The Difference Between
by River Winters
Summary: Kitty/Pyro He lost everything that he thought made him something. She always knew he was special, but not because of his mutant powers. A story of connection and discovery. Post X3. COMPLETE.
1. Empty Memories

**The Difference Between**

Chapter I : Empty Memories

_Summary: Kitty (Shadowkat) & John (Pyro). He lost everything that he thought made him something. She always knew he was special, but not because of his mutant powers. X3 spoilers!_

_Notes: Rated a strong PG-13 for language and some possible sexual situations later on._

Hate is a very strong word, he told himself. Mostly, he didn't care that they hated him. Mostly, he didn't care that he hated them. But mostly, he lied to himself all day long and knew it. Mostly.

John Allerdyce flicked his thumb back and forth, almost feeling the lighter he wanted so badly to be holding. He thrust his palm forward, pretending that he could still create flames at leisure… but the empty, cold palm didn't shoot forth flames.

Hate. He hated the man who had invented the "cure" which had been injected into him so cruelly, taking away the thing that made him who he was – the thing that made him Pyro. He hated Magneto, he hated Xavier, he hated every damn kid at that so-called school. He even hated himself. There wasn't anything to love about his traitorous ways, his ruined life.

He remembered the moment that had changed everything. Almost as if it were happening at that very moment, John remembered the dull ache and the woozy welcome back to consciousness. He remembered the sounds fading back in, remembered seeing her above him, shaking him into consciousness.

Kitty Pryde always had a way of getting in his way, and it had been no different that night.

"_John…" she cried. He hated her for always calling him by his human name. She screamed something about needing to get away, and he roughly pushed her away and stumbled to his feet, his head still pounding from being hit by solid ice. She was a stupid girl for even trying to help him._

_She tugged on his arm, trying to pull him with her as she fled with everyone else, but he jerked away, wildly searching for Magneto, for **anyone** but her. She tried again to pull him with her, and he shoved her to the ground. Tears filled her eyes and for a moment she looked at him with disbelief. For one moment he felt sorry. _

Slamming his empty palm down into the arm of the chair he sat in, Pyro stared at nothing in anger. Kitty had always been so trusting and so damn naïve, and he had_ felt _the hurt in her eyes. She was kind when he was undeserving. Only seconds after he had shoved her to the ground, she turned and left in tears, escaping with the rest of the X-Men in the jet and leaving him with the memory of her sorrow.

It was only after the jet took off that Pyro realized what was happening. One look at Jean, if that was even who she was anymore, had been enough. Pyro had fled into the icy water of the river only to be shot with the "cure" and detained shortly after.

Now, depressed and in prison, he knew nothing but the empty cell – and all he could think about was the empty life he had always led. All he could remember was the kindness Kitty had tried to show him even after he had betrayed her and everyone else. All he could do was wish he had acted differently – and maybe he'd be with her and everyone else instead of a cold jail.


	2. Nine Months

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter II: Nine Months_

Nearly nine months had passed since that horrible night in which so many lives had been lost. Time couldn't erase Kitty Pryde's memories. Her dreams had turned into nightmares and it seemed that nearly everything reminded her of what had been lost.

It had been hard for her to stay at Xavier's school after his death, and she had left early to return home for the summer. Unfortunately, being home in Illinois with her family didn't help with her depression and loneliness. She looked forward to returning the next year, and was counting the days until she would return.

It was a warm July morning when Kitty's summer changed.

Padding down the stairs in her pajamas, Kitty was met by her mother at the foot of the stairs. She looked anxious, and was holding an envelope.

Kitty stopped short. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

"Kitty, you just got a letter from some sort of… prison…" her mother looked at her uncertainly, and handed her the envelope gingerly like it was a bomb.

Kitty's name and address was scrawled messily on a plain white envelope. The return address was in black ink and stated that it was from a prison in West Virginia.

Kitty glanced at her mother, who was watching her with a concerned frown. Tearing the open envelope, Kitty drew out the letter, making sure to keep the paper at an angle so her mother couldn't see.

_Kitty,_

_Sorry for being an asshole the last time we saw each other. _

_Pyro_

_P.S. Prison sucks._

The first thing that ran through Kitty's mind was '_you have got to be kidding me._'

Not only did she not believe John would have sent her a letter, but she wondered how he had gotten her address. She decided it was a nice yet strange gesture, but something about it all made her uneasy.

"Who is it from? It's a mistake, right?" Her mother looked at Kitty inquiringly.

"It's from an old friend." Kitty said firmly, and for once, didn't let her mother ask anything more.

---- x ----

Kitty re-read the letter countless times over the next few days trying to find a message deeper than what it really said. Hearing from John made her think of him again and remember the times when he had been around. He had always had a problem with showing off and trying to fit in, and she had seen it clearly. She had tried being nice to him, but he never really cared. Once, she had found him crying outside the mansion in a corner of the garden. His tears were heated, bitter tears, and he had angrily shoved her aside when she tried to console him.

Despite his rude behavior and unappealing personality, Kitty had always maintained hope for him, and a belief that someday he would overcome his anger. The night when she found out he had abandoned the X-Men and joined Magneto she lost faith in him.

_It doesn't matter anymore_, she told herself firmly. _He is where he should be_.

But a small part of her protested. A small part of her knew he was alone in that prison; a small part of her remembered when she had seen him crying. Kitty hated seeing people in pain, especially her friends. Even though John had never treated her like a friend, she would have been his friend in a heartbeat.

For several days, Kitty tried to figure out why he had written her. To apologize, yes – obviously. But why? He had never apologized to anyone, ever. At least not that Kitty knew of. She had seen rare moments of kindness in him, but never apologies.

Kitty began a letter to him several times, but each time it sounded stupid to her and she crumpled the paper and threw it away, frustrated. She began to wonder if he had written her just to bother her.

She finally decided she wouldn't write him back, that the idea was totally ridiculous.

She decided to go see him instead.


	3. Fingertips

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter III: Fingertips_

There were exactly nine hundred and sixty-seven squares on the ceiling above Pyro's bed. He had counted them three times to be sure, and was attempting a fourth time when a banging on the bars enclosing his room interrupted the count.

"You got a visitor, Allerdyce," said the guard named Sims, looking at Pyro with a mix of disdain and superiority.

As the keys rattled in the lock, Pyro swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying to still the leap of his heart. Could it be Magneto, there to finally break him out?

"I don't got all day, Allerdyce," Sims said, tapping a pudgy finger against a bar like he was in a hurry.

"Yeah, you do." Pyro said darkly, shooting the guard a nasty look as he exited his cell.

"No funny stuff, now, you hear?" Sims grabbed Pyro by the arm firmly and steered him along the long hallway of prison cells.

Pyro just imagined what he would do to Sims if he had never lost his ability to create and destroy with fire and kept his mouth shut. It already caused him enough trouble as it was.

Pyro had never seen the visitor's area before, as he had never gotten visitors. It was a long wall of glass with little stalls built along it. There were even telephone sets like in the movies. It was what Pyro had expected, but what he hadn't expected was Kitty Pryde behind the glass, looking up at him with those wide eyes of hers. The shock of seeing her was so pronounced that it felt like everything slowed down to allow him to mentally process it all.

She looked just as shocked.

"Sit!" Sims commanded, roughly pushing the stunned Pyro down into the chair. The burly guard looked at Kitty suspiciously and walked away, mumbling into his radio.

For a moment, the two former schoolmates just looked at each other. It was hard for either to say what the other was thinking or feeling. Pyro suddenly felt hugely uneasy and wondered if Kitty had come to mock him. It would have been better if Magneto had been on the other side of the glass. Pyro had almost decided to turn away when she picked up her phone and looked at him expectantly, timidly.

He looked at the phone as if it were a snake, then back at her. Her eyes begged him to do it. He picked up the phone before he could decide not to.

The line was silent. Then, "Hi... are you okay?"

Her voice was quaking slightly, and she fiddled with a strand of her hair nervously.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He sounded weak and stupid to himself. He looked at her hard, and lowered his voice. "Why are you here?"

Her gaze faltered for only a moment moment, then she returned his solid gaze. "Why did you write to me?"

He mentally cursed himself for writing that letter. It had been half out of boredom and half out of insomnia, and he regretted it now. He let out a deep breath and raised an eyebrow coolly. "It was all in the letter, _Kitty cat_."

She looked at him searchingly, ignoring his attitude. He hated that. "I really worried about you, John. I still do. I had no idea you were in prison. What _happened_?"

For some reason, Pyro felt like her question wasn't asking what happened to land him in prison, but what happened to him that screwed his whole life up. He looked at her and hated himself for being such a prick, but he also hated her for caring.

"I was stupid, okay?" He said tersely. He shook his head and laughed bitterly, somehow unable to believe he was having this conversation with Kitty.

"Yeah, you _were_ stupid." She said with a bite of hostility, giving him the same look she had given him after he pushed her to the ground.

"Shut the fuck up, Kitty. You think you know so much, huh? You're just a damn _kid_."

Kitty glared, drawing back a little. "What, one or two years difference makes you an adult, _Pyro_?" She looked away, and he thought he saw the glitter of tears in her eyes. "You haven't changed."

She looked back at him, tears freely sliding down her cheeks.

"I stole my parent's car and drove _hundreds_ of miles to come see you. Why? I'm such an idiot. I guess you're right, John. I'm just a stupid kid, still thinking and hoping you'll stop being such an asshole and start letting that wall down you put up."

She smiled wryly and wiped a cheek absentmindedly with her free-hand. "I can walk through walls, but not the ones you put up." Her face grew somber. "I'm _tired_ of trying to put myself out there only to be slapped in the face and stabbed in the back. Goodbye, John. Enjoy life in the slammer."

Before she could slam the phone down into its receiver, Pyro shot out of his chair and pushed his free palm against the glass, shouting, "Wait!"

She just looked at him blankly.

His heart was racing and his nerves were screaming, and he wondered for a moment if he had gone insane. Speechless, Pyro sank back down into his chair and dropped his gaze. After a very long struggle with himself, he spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Really?" She asked softly, averting her gaze.

He shrugged, trying to appear offhand.

"You don't have to be like this," she said in a tone that made him miserable. He wouldn't look at her.

Kitty slid her hand up to the edge of the glass, so that her fingertips touched the cool surface – then the fingers slipped through the glass as though it didn't exist. Pyro watched with a quickening heartbeat as her fingertips inched towards his where they rested atop the smooth table. To his slight horror, his hand, with a mind of its own, moved forward to meet hers.

The moment their fingertips touched, it was as if something broke in John Allerdyce's body and mind. It was almost like the contact of their barely-touching fingertips held every memory of her and everything unjust and mean that he had done to her. The rush of sensation was too much, and he drew back as if he had been struck by lightening.

He looked at her, breathing a little heavier than usual, and saw what he felt written all over her. Her wide eyes and shaking hand registered how stunned the touch left her. She snatched her hand back, and for a long moment the two just looked at each other.

"I must be going postal," she said, and Pyro jumped. He had forgotten about the phone in his hand and against his ear.

"But…" she continued, lowering her voice, "will you _promise_ to do what I ask of you if I break you out of here?"

Pyro couldn't believe his ears, and somewhere in the corner of his mind a little voice told him that Kitty was a vulnerable girl and taking her offer would be taking advantage of her… but the little voice had never stopped him before. The wheels of his mind were already forming dirty little plans to use the escape to rejoin Magneto and regain his worth in life among the brotherhood.

He leaned closer, his voice a mere whisper. "When?"

She leaned closer too. "_Now_."

He suddenly felt her hand on his wrist.

"Promise, John." She whispered firmly, her eyes full and honest.

He nodded, trying his best to look past the honesty in her eyes, as it made him feel guilty.

She smiled, and to Pyro's surprise it had a twinge of devilishness. "This walking through walls thing might make you feel a little… _strange_."


	4. Speed Limits

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter IV: Speed Limits_

_Author's Note: Thanks so much to those who have read, reviewed, and encouraged. There really isn't enough Pyro/Kitty stuff out there – I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story and keep letting me know what you think. Thanks again!_

It was hard to tell how fast the car was going. The speedometer read seventy-seven, but Kitty felt like she was driving much, _much_ faster. But, the fear of pursuit made her push the pedal in even further.

"Jesus, Kitty!" John swore, recoiling in his seat as she swerved to miss a squirrel. "Cool it, will you? There's no one following!"

"Uh, sorry," Kitty apologized, feeling the tips of her ears burning with embarrassment. She wasn't really the best driver, as she hadn't had much practice. Hell, she didn't even have a license yet. Fearing he would pick up on the fact she had forgotten to mention, Kitty glanced at John fearfully.

He was staring back at her. "_What_?"

"Nothing!" She chirped, faking nonchalance.

"For God's sake, slow down!" He yelped as she hit a pothole at seventy-nine miles per hour.

Reacting with nervous tension, Kitty slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. Luckily, it was a remote road and there was no one behind them or in front. Clutching the wheel, Kitty tried to catch her breath and slow her racing heartbeat.

Squinting at her in disbelief, John rubbed his neck. "How the hell did you make it alive this far?"

Expelling a shaky breath, Kitty stared straight ahead. "I wasn't as nervous as I am now. You're a fugitive now, and I'm the one you're with… I-I don't want to get caught."

She bit her lip and looked at him. He was clutching the upholstered seats in both hands. "We _won't_ get caught - as long as you drive slower. And safer. Got it?"

Kitty nodded, gripping the wheel with white knuckles but making no move to start driving again. She took a few deep breaths in, steadying her shaking body, and tried to ignore the persistent voice in the back of her head that told her the entire ordeal was a mistake.

John sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. "It'll be okay, Kitty." He glanced at her sidelong, and she opened her eyes to look at him. "I promise." He said, keeping her gaze. For a moment, Kitty forgot that John was the cause of her anxiety, and she smiled at him. He smiled back, almost shyly.

Determined, Kitty set her gaze on the road. She let her foot off the brake and pressed the gas carefully. John put his feet up on the dashboard and put his hands behind his head. "See? It's not that hard." He seemed to notice himself and frowned slightly. "I need some different clothes."

---- x ----

Forty miles and a new outfit later, nothing had been said. Kitty was upset at how she had gotten John's new clothes – she had stolen them from a Wal-Mart they had passed. Her stress radiated through the car, and John must have sensed it. He kept quiet and whenever she looked at him, he was staring at his palms or flexing his fingers.

"Where are we going?" His question sliced the silence in half at around sixty-forty, and Kitty jumped slightly.

"School," she replied coolly after a pause, and he was silent.

"I want you to talk with Storm, maybe Wolverine." She glanced at him, her anxiousness staring to show again. "Maybe you could go back, maybe – "

He let out a breath of angry breath. "They all hate me. And it doesn't really matter anymore. My powers are gone."

"What?" Kitty's shocked question sounded far-off to even herself. It made sense, sort of, because thinking back she hadn't seen him do anything with fire the entire time.

"The _cure_. I got _cured_," he said bitterly, looking out of the window. "What am I good for now?" The moment the words left his lips, he regretted saying them. They made him sound weak and pathetic.

Kitty was silent, but he could somehow feel her concern without looking at her or hearing words. Pyro felt her hand come to rest on top of his, and he swallowed the painful lump in his throat and pulled his hand away, crossing his arms.

"It's getting late," he observed, searching the setting sky.

"Yeah…" she agreed halfheartedly, defeat written across her features. "I'm tired."

"Your parents are probably freaking out, huh?" John asked after a pause, smirking slightly.

"Definitely," she said, and pressed her lips firmly together as her chin quivered. John almost felt sorry for her as she angrily dashed away a tear.

"That's what I thought," he said.

He leaned against the cool glass of the window and shut his eyes. _Mine don't give a damn._

---- x ----

Motels cost money – usually. But if you're Kitty Pryde and you have close to no money, you just walk through a wall or two with John Allerdyce in tow and _borrow_ a room. Then you _borrow_ food from the grocery store across the street. After borrowing so much, a person tends to become tired and disgusted.

Twelve hours earlier, Kitty had been driving. Now she was sprawled on a cheap comforter staring up at the cracked ceiling of a motel in God-knows-where West Virginia.

She felt exhausted, upset, and like she had made the biggest mistake of her life. She turned over to look at John where he sat on the floor next to the other bed.

He was finishing a candy bar and watching the news. Every few minutes, his eyes drifted to Kitty. He could see her weariness and he felt an uneasy suspicion that she didn't think she had made the right decision to break him out – or even see him. Not that it _really_ mattered, he told himself. As soon as she had gotten him out of West Virginia, he'd be gone. But even as he thought it, he felt a pang of guilt, and his consciousness created the image of Kitty's eyes filled with disbelief and the hurt of betrayal – just like the night when he'd lost his powers.

He glanced at her yet again, and she was looking back at him. Her eyes were dark and her expression unreadable. He looked away, back to the screen, not being able to stand those eyes.

He suddenly saw his face on the screen, accompanied by the voice of a local news anchor. "_Ex-mutant convict John Allerdyce has escaped from the MutantX Compound prison in West Virginia. He was aided by an unidentified mutant female_." Blurry, low-quality footage of Kitty pulling Pyro through the glass was shown in slow motion.

"Shit," he swore, and turned off the TV quickly – but Kitty had already seen, and had shot up into a sitting position, frozen in horror. Her eyes reflected the fear that Pyro himself felt.

Her face crumpled into tears, and she turned away, her shoulders sagging as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

His heart broke a little bit for her, but he wasn't sure if it was because he felt sorry for her or because he knew the feeling of sadness so well. He rose, tossing the candy bar wrapper and the remote to the side. He knelt down so that he could see into her face. Her eyes were screwed shut, but the tears still stained her cheeks. Her hands were clenched miserably by her sides.

He gingerly touched her shoulder, feeling more unsure of what he was doing by the moment. He was about to retract himself completely when she brought her hand to touch his where it rested on her shoulder, and opened her eyes. He didn't understand how such a slight touch could render him so staggered - His heart beat faster, and his emotions seemed to become completely unchecked. Sound seemed to fade, and all he could see or recognize was her. Kitty had been crying or close to tears all day, but until that moment, he hadn't _understood_.

As their eyes held a steady, breathless gaze, he understood. He understood what she had given up to give him a chance, he understood how painful he had made it for her. He understood that writing the letter to her hadn't been a mistake – not at all. He understood that she _cared_, and it made a small part of him feel smaller.

His voice wavered, and it took everything for him to say what he said next. Thoughts of his family, his past full of abandonment, harsh reality, and defeat all came clashing together and blinded his mind, tangled his thoughts.

The next six words he uttered seemed like the hardest thing he had ever done, and he heard teenage boy in him break in two. "Please don't think I'm a mistake."

Her face broke again, and suddenly, her arms were around his neck and he was clinging to her for dear life, digging his fingers into her back, crying openly against the faded green shoulder of her t-shirt as she whispered hoarsely over and over again, "Never, _never_." He felt her fingernails digging into the skin of his neck, the cotton of his shirt, and it made him hold her tighter, try to pull her closer. In that moment, nothing else mattered. All either could do was claw like an animal, fierce and raw, all the years of their past coming to a climax of this bottled storm of an embrace.

And then suddenly it was over, and they were staring at each other, breathing heavily, hands still dug into shirts and skin and hair. Kitty's grip slackened, and her eyes faltered. Pyro didn't feel like he recognized himself or her, and he powerlessly stared at her, upon the edges of wonder and question.

Kitty broke the heated gaze, her eyes roaming wildly everywhere but upon him. "I-I need to sleep," she said dazedly, and John felt his fingers loosen themselves, his knees push him to a stand, his heart slow.

That night, Pyro, John – whoever he really was – didn't sleep. He stared toward her where she laid on her bed. He could just make out her shape in the dark. He didn't understand the empty darkness in contrast to the warmth they had discovered in each other's arms. He went in circles of hate, confusion, hope, but most of all dread.

Somehow, they had crossed a line that night – and he knew it would change everything.


	5. Angers and Fears

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter V: Angers and Fears_

Most mornings weren't like that one. The air was tense, uncertain, and neither of the two teenagers could look at each other squarely in the eye. It was awkward, and neither said a thing to the other. The sky was overcast – shadowed and moody, just like the two travelers.

After "borrowing" pastries and some water from the grocery store across the street, all Kitty did was stare straight ahead, leaving Pyro to disinterestedly munch on a pastry and glance at her from time to time, lost in his thoughts.

It was like what had happened _hadn't_, and he began to wonder if it had at all. He was angry and tired, and wanted a lighter. His fingers itched to flick one opened and closed, just like the old times. He tried countless times to think of something to say to Kitty, to upset her, to get her going, to make her do _anything_ but stare blankly with her hands on the wheel. He began to study her hands, and then her hair, and flashes of sensory memory intruded upon his mind. He could still feel her fingernails digging into his neck, her hair mixing with his hot tears. His eyes drifted to her lips, and he could still hear their breathing, the heated recollection of a sound making him clench his teeth together in frustration.

It was hard for Kitty not to turn and look at John – she wasn't sure what had happened between them – she wanted desperately to look him in the eye and see the softness and the vulnerability that she had felt and seen hours before. When honest with herself, she could admit that yes, she had some sort of feelings for John. But she wasn't sure why or how, or when it all happened – she felt like she was going out of her mind. But she kept remembering him begging her not to think he was a mistake – and her heart still hurt to think he could even think that of himself. John Allerdyce had always kept his thoughts to himself. Part of her was determined to break through and really know him. Another part told her that would never happen. Not in a million years. She could sense him looking at her, and it only made her grip the steering wheel tighter.

_Welcome to Pennsylvania, _a green sign read, and Kitty let out a tired, tense breath, glancing at the gas gauge. Nearly empty. Swallowing the lightheaded feeling of panic, Kitty calmed herself. She had stolen her parents' credit card to pay for gas, and she hated herself for being so dishonest with her own parents. It seemed that every moment in which she wasn't worrying about John, she was dreading a confrontation with her parents. She was convinced they would really kill her for doing what she had done. Hell, she couldn't believe what she was in the middle of either.

Pulling off into the next gas station that she saw, Kitty finally glanced at Pyro. He was looking back at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. Grabbing her wallet, Kitty got out of the car and slammed the door, hands shaking. She filled the tank and went into the convenience store to pay, feeling like she was walking through a fuzzy dream world. Nothing was in focus; her tangled thoughts were the only reality. She did offhandedly notice a display of silver lighters next to the register. She toyed with the idea of getting one for Pyro, and almost got one. Almost.

Cringing at the total of forty-three dollars and ninety-three cents, Kitty left the store blinking back tears, struggling to breathe. She had gotten herself into a bad situation, and the little voice that said so was no longer little – it was a giant ugly beast, screaming at her full force.

That was when she saw the payphone, and like a magnet, she was irresistibly drawn to it. She inserted several coins then dialed the number to home with shaking fingers. She glanced back at the car.

It rang three times before her father answered, "Pryde residence."

"Daddy!" Kitty cried, losing control of her emotions and weeping openly as she clutched the phone.

"Kitty! Where are you? Are you all right?" Her father sounded as close to the edge as she was, and she gave another sob, wishing she could be with him then, safe at home.

"Yes, I-I'm okay. I'm sorry for stealing the car and the credit card, Dad… I don't know w-what I was thinking," she said between short breaths.

"Honey, I just want you to be okay – " her dad started, but then suddenly her mother was on the line. "Kitty Pryde, where _are_ you? You tell me _now_ so we can come and get you, young lady! You've worried us _sick_!"

Suddenly, Kitty's tears became angry tears.

"I can never do anything right, can I, Mom?" Kitty cried, fisting away tears from her cheeks.

"Kitty? Katherine! Is this about that letter from that prison?" Kitty leaned against the side of the payphone, trying to catch her breath, trying to get a grip on something solid. "You _answer_ me!" Her mother shouted shrilly. "Where are you? Tell me now!"

Kitty felt herself beginning to hyperventilate, and the ground began to sway. Her throat felt like it was closing up, and her heart felt like it was on fire. Her knees buckled, and she felt herself begin to fall – but she was stopped short, supported by a strong pair of arms that brought her back to her feet.

Still clutching the phone for dear life, Kitty turned weakly, slowly. John was standing in front of her, seeming taller than before, steadying her by the shoulders. He understood; she could see it in his eyes. The feel of his hands on her again made is so that, somehow, the walls she had built the last night crumbled; Kitty dropped the phone, and fell into John's arms, encircling him with her own. She cried freely, forgetting about her mother still being on the then-dangling phone, forgetting about the space that had been between her and John all day. The miniscule voice of Kitty's mother squeaked at them, and John grabbed the phone, slamming it down into the receiver.

"Your parents too, huh?" He said in a soft wry voice. Kitty's arms seemed to hold him tighter. His arms closed around her, his eyes closed, and it was enough. For a moment, it was all right, and both Kitty and Pyro were content to hold each other in a fiercely reassuring embrace.

Then they heard the distant wail of sirens. They drew apart, and looked at each other fully for the first time that day as if in a trance.

Pyro suddenly realized that Kitty was beautiful. How hadn't he noticed the soft face, the curve of her nose, the depth of her kind eyes? Was he really that blind? Even as the sirens howled somewhere nearby, he studied her as he never had before. He never wanted to forget the face in front of him.

"That guy in the gas station," John breathed, keeping eye contact, "he kept looking at me."

"He recognized you," Kitty whispered, her eyes still shining with tears. He didn't realize it, but his eyes were talking to her as his lips were not.

John brushed a stray tear off her cheek with two fingers. _This isn't you_, said a small voice.

The sirens grew louder, and both of the teenagers turned to look in the direction from which the sound was coming. Suddenly they were hand-in-hand, racing toward the car.


	6. Pain

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter VI: Pain_

Kitty was pushing the car as fast as it could go, but Pyro wasn't complaining this time – not to say he wasn't scared shitless, but he wasn't complaining. He was too busy gripping the dashboard as the entire car rattled with effort. The wail of sirens was getting closer and closer, and Kitty's horror was written all over her face.

What had started as an innocent gas run had turned into a run for their lives, and the police cars, about three or four, were gaining frighteningly fast. Just a few more seconds and they'd be overtaken – but Kitty wasn't about to let that happen.

Frantically putting the car into cruise, she held out her hand to Pyro, shakily steadying the car with one hand.

"Grab my purse and take my hand _now_!" She yelled. Not even having the chance to think it through, John did as he was told, barely managing to get a grip on her purse. The second their hands touched, they shot out of the car, down into the paved highway.

John couldn't see a thing, but he recognized the fuzzy, floaty feeling that came when he and Kitty went through things. He could sense that they were moving rapidly, but the sensation of moving through solid pavement and earth was too puzzling to try and comprehend, at least to him. It seemed to be around a minute or so before they resurfaced in the woods beside the highway, looking at each other shakily. John shook slightly from the sensation of moving through things, Kitty's small purse dangling lifelessly in his hand.

"That was close," Kitty said breathlessly as they both peered through the trees at the highway. She was still quaking from adrenaline and fear. The police sirens sounded far off, and she could barely make out the blue and white lights. Kitty breathed hard, glancing down and trying to brace herself for what she knew was coming next. She heard the sound of an explosion, and all she could do was grimace. She felt completely awful and devastated – she had destroyed a lot of things lately – trust, her parents' good credit accounts, and now the car. She glanced at Pyro. She wondered for the millionth time if it was all worth it.

Then she noticed that their hands were still in a tight clasp. She shyly let go and took her purse. John wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that she had let go.

Brushing aside his thoughts, he pointed in the opposite direction of where the police cars were. "We need to move," he said, and Kitty looked at him blankly. "I am _not_ going back to prison," he insisted, somewhat peeved that she was less than enthusiastic.

She made no move to follow him, and suddenly Pyro felt old feelings of uncontrollable anger curling around the edges of his mind.

He began marching in the opposite direction, trying to calm himself, but Kitty stood her ground. "This is insane… we're going to get caught!"

The desperate and scared tone of her voice made him turn angrily. "So run back to Mommy and Daddy! I don't need your help," he said darkly, annoyed with her childish fright. He resumed his march in the opposite direction.

Stunned into disbelief, Kitty just gaped at him before stalking after him, enraged. "You couldn't have gotten here _without _it!"

He turned with lightening speed and gripped her by the wrists, pushing her up against a large tree trunk, his mind suddenly seething and full of suspicion.

"Are you leading me into a trap?" He asked roughly, millions of uncertainties clouding and tainting his mind. She looked at him with incredulous eyes, and Pyro shook her violently. "Tell me!"

Suddenly her face twisted, and she pushed back. "All I've ever done is try to be kind to you! What, stealing my parents car, driving hundreds of miles without a license, believing you were good enough to break out of prison – all of that is me leading you into a trap? _Right_, John."

"My name is Pyro!" He screamed, unaware of everything, black spots growing before his eyes. "Even without my powers, Pyro is who I am. Pyro is what made me something. John is _nothing_."

Kitty submitted to his forceful pinning, staring at him flatly in the eyes, disbelief swimming in her eyes once again.

"You are _you_, no matter what name I call you by."

Suddenly, the angry tide dropped, the black spots popped, and John realized what he was doing. Immediately, he loosened his grip on her wrists. The awful feeling of realization and the cold awareness set in, breaking over him like a cold wave – and he suddenly understood that he might be hurting the only person who had ever given him a real, genuine chance. Her eyes shone softly with tears, and she gently gripped his forearm, imploring him silently.

"It's _this_ that matters," she said, reaching through his chest. He could feel the fuzzy warm tingling of her translucent hand right where his heart was. She withdrew her hand and he gripped the once again solid wrist, but gently this time.

John suddenly felt small. Kitty had a way of doing that to him. He moved closer, and he could see the nervous tension in her face. Their faces were inches away from each other's; each could feel the other's breath hitting their skin softly. He recognized the faint smell of motel soap on her skin.

"What was last night?" John asked softly, afraid of the answer, afraid of the question.

She kept his gaze, her face unsure and afraid.

"I don't know," was her soft reply. She sounded just as lost as he felt, and as much as he wanted to get away, he wanted to stay close to her even more.

Never a listener to his heart's advice, he ripped himself away from her and began walking, barely able to control his wild emotions.

"We gotta get out of here," he said coldly. Kitty had no choice but to follow, discouraged and exhausted.

---- x ----

Sergeant Samuel Miller tapped his pen impatiently against the report clipboard. This one wasn't really what he was used to.

Two fugitives, one a convicted teenage ex-mutant and the other, as reported by the convenience store employee, a young teenage girl. Both on the run from the law. How had they given him and his men the slip?

The '95 Taurus they had been driving was now practically destroyed, but no bodies were inside the vehicle or outside. This led him to believe he was dealing with some sort of mutant – the young teenage girl. Fortunately the tags and license were still legible, and his men were running a check on them to begin an investigation on the convict's accomplice.

He glanced at his watch and groaned. Nearly twenty minutes had passed since the wreck. "Dammit, Jones, where are those detectives and the backup?" He shouted, pacing angrily.

"Sorry, sir, they're on the way," Jones replied skittishly, taking a couple steps back out of Miller's way.

Miller scanned the trees alongside the road once more. He had too few men out there searching for the escapees. The escapees could be anywhere by now. Giving a frustrated grunt, Miller ceased his pacing. "Why did they have to be mutants?"

"Er, one mutant, one ex-mutant, sir," Jones corrected anxiously.

Miller glared down his partner.

A large Greyhound bus passed slowly, and Miller peered up at it. "Now why does a friggin' Greyhound get here faster than backup, huh?" The Sergeant shook his head in disgust.

Aboard the Greyhound and towards the back, two teenagers were slumped down in their seats, nervously clutching their armrests as they passed the envoy of police cars. They both looked slightly disheveled and out of place. The girl still clutched her credit card that she had used to pay for tickets to North Salem. The boy looked troubled and weary.

After a moment of silent relief after they passed the envoy, he turned to her, unable to bear himself. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." It didn't seem to be a good enough apology, and he couldn't meet her gaze.

She looked at him sadly, and wondered what would happen between them after the events of that morning. She laid a hand on his, trying to breech the invisible wall between them once again.

"I'm sorry the whole world has hurt _you_."

He turned away so that she couldn't see the angry tears in his eyes.


	7. Feeling Silence

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter VII: Feeling Silence_

Kitty fell asleep easily. John envied her as her head lolled lazily on his shoulder. She had been sleeping for the entire night, yet he was still wide awake, staring out of the window up at the slowly disappearing stars overhead. Dawn was approaching, and he wondered idly how much longer he could stand to ride in the bus. His legs were stiff and his patience was slowly snapping in two.

He rubbed his fingers together and lustfully imagined flames curling around his fingertips. Sometimes when he was alone in his mind, he resolved himself to accept his powerless position and forget about ever having had mutant abilities. But Pyro could not be kept down or ignored, and he longed to hold flames in his palm once more.

Giving a frustrated sigh, John looked at the passing highway sign. Only a few hundred more miles to go and they would finally be at Xavier's. Granted, they would have to walk several miles to the actual school, but safety was near and it brought a small ounce of comfort. Glancing down at Kitty, John couldn't stop the little smile that sprung from seeing her curled up against him. Only allowing himself to smile for a fraction of a second, he then looked away, the smile wiped from his face. He was slightly worried about the way he felt around her. Pyro could feel something inside of him changing – and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing.

---- x ----

Bobby Drake yawned as he scanned the evening horizon from his seat on a higher balcony at Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. His summer was royally boring, and he felt slightly depressed about the situation. His parents just didn't treat him like they had used to. The one time he had called, it had been like talking to strangers. He should have been at home playing video games and getting into trouble with his brother. But he wasn't going back home – ever. "Of all people on earth, you should be able to depend on your family," he had said to Storm afterwards. He was utterly heartbroken, and Storm had smiled sadly and drawn him into a warm, motherly embrace. "_We_ are your family, no matter _what_, Bobby."

Bobby stood, restless and completely fed up with his thoughts. It would be dark soon, and Storm reinforced a strict indoor policy after dark. It was just him and Storm that summer, along with the usual smattering of homeless and runaway kids. It had been odd, silent, and strange. So many losses had plagued the usually cheerful residence. Every hallway was a reminder of another person who didn't walk it anymore. Bobby sighed, listlessly studying the grounds. But then he started, and peered into the distance of the road. He saw a lone figure carrying another. "Oh my God…" he breathed even as he turned to rush downstairs, his heart pounding.

---- x ----

_Hmm. When had everything gone black?_ Kitty felt herself groggily open her eyes to a hazy world. The last thing she remembered was she and John had been doggedly making their way along on the road that led toward the mansion – they had walked five miles in the late afternoon heat and she had been feeling weak and thirsty.

"Kitty?" A male voice asked, and she searched for the source. It wasn't John – this voice sounded _very_ familiar and she associated it with warmth…

"Bobby?" She whispered, testing out her voice. She felt his hand squeeze hers.

"It's okay – you're in the mansion." His face came into focus and he smiled down at her. She smiled back, swept away in relief and joy. Bobby brushed a strand hair out of her face, looking slightly worried. "Seems like you passed out from exhaustion."

Kitty frowned and was suddenly frightened, but Bobby rubbed her arm reassuringly. "You're _fine_. You just need to take it easy."

"Okay… can I sit up?" Kitty asked, and Bobby nodded, helping to steady her as she slowly swung her legs over the side of her bed. She then realized she was in her dorm room, and she smiled, the feelings of fright gone. Her head felt fine, and her body felt completely normal. She shot Bobby a mischievous smile.

"Remember last time you visited me in my room?" She asked teasingly, referring to the ice skating episode.

Bobby's face dissolved into a boyish grin and the friends hugged tightly.

Just outside the open door, Pyro was standing with his back to the wall, staring blankly ahead, the ugly face of jealousy leering at him. He took a deep breath and strode down the hallway, cursing under his breath – both at himself and at Bobby.

"Listen, Kitty… what is John doing with you?" Bobby asked, his smile fading into concern as the two drew back from the hug.

"Oh…" Kitty felt her ears burn slightly and her smile grew shy. "It's… a pretty crazy story."

Bobby leaned closer, looking worried. "Tell me. Did he hurt you?"

Shocked into silence momentarily, Kitty's smile faltered. "No… why would he do that?"

Bobby's face was full of warning. "He's not to be trusted, Kitty. I thought you knew that."

---- x ----

Storm was more than a bit surprised at the turn of events in the past few hours – seeing Kitty was a surprise in itself, but seeing her unconscious _and_ accompanied by Pyro – well, it was a shock to say the least.

After making sure the two tired youths had everything they needed, she sent them to their rooms for the night and had a private conversation with Bobby. The two reached a consensus that involved worry and distrust of Pyro. Even though the story Kitty had relayed to Bobby seemed plausible, Storm was uncomfortable with and suspicious of the entire thing. Bobby couldn't have agreed more. Storm planned to call Kitty's parents first thing in the morning – she wasn't sure what to do with Pyro, seeing as he was a wanted fugitive. Bobby, grim and wary, had just shaken his head.

---- x ----

_1:23 a.m._

Kitty idly sipped her milk, wishing it would ease her nerves. She was exhausted, but she hadn't been able to fall asleep. As she did so often during the semester, she went to the kitchen for milk and cookies, her favorite snack.

As she munched on a milk-dipped Oreo cookie, she reflected on what Bobby had said about Pyro. She _knew_ everything he had said. She _knew_ he had abandoned and betrayed the X-Men, she _knew_ he had always had a secretive nature. But she also knew that John wasn't what everyone thought he was. Kitty absentmindedly twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers. She hadn't seen John since she had gotten there. It was almost like he had been avoiding her – it bothered her.

Almost like he had read her mind, John stepped into the room, and Kitty jumped from surprise – he looked just as startled to see her there. He paused and she knew he was thinking about turning around to leave. Before he could, she gave him a hopeful smile.

"Hi."

He didn't leave, but he didn't say anything either. He just looked at her with a blank face.

"They told me you carried me the rest of the way here…" Kitty began, but she could think of nothing else to say. She could feel distress radiating off him, and it made her stomach knot itself.

"What's _wrong_?" She asked quietly, wishing she could bridge the gap between them.

John was surprised to hear the question, and he wasn't sure how to answer. It was like all words held no meaning anymore, and he didn't know how to tell her what he felt, and he didn't know how to deal being in this place again.

After a second of silence, Kitty tilted her head toward the milk carton. "Want some milk and cookies?"

Expelling a deep breath, he shrugged, finally moving. "Sure, why the hell not?" He asked stiffly, and settled into the barstool next her.

"So, can't sleep?" She asked, grasping at straws for a conversation of any kind.

"Obviously not," He said sarcastically, holding his Oreo at arms length and looking at it solemnly.

"John… what's wrong? _Seriously_." She nudged him, attempting to be playfully. "We made it. We're okay now." She lent him a friendly, warm smile but he just looked at with dark eyes.

"You're wearing Bobby's t-shirt and shorts," he stated, his tone a bitter shade of resentment.

Kitty looked down at the faded Ninja Turtles t-shirt and gym shorts she was wearing. Yes, it was a fashion crime, but other than that she didn't understand why he would point that out. Looking back at his face, she tried to decipher his purpose, but his face remained the same, his dark eyes a complete mystery to her.

"I don't…" she began.

Suddenly his hand was cupping the side of her face and his face was contorting into a desperate expression. "Understand? You don't _understand_? Well neither do I!" He paused, and took a shaky breath, searching her eyes. "Kitty, I…"

But he never said anything else. He seemed to lose his edge and his hand dropped. The only sound was that of their heavy breathing. Kitty could feel herself trembling, and she found herself wondering how on earth they had been so distanced one moment then so affected by each other the next. She could feel the heat of his body and she could smell the smell of soap and shampoo coming from him. She felt a lump leap into her throat, and she shook her head as the tears began to fill her eyes. Unable to deal with the intensity of the moment, Kitty stood and fled, nearly knocking over her glass of milk as she ran out of the room and down the hallway.

John heard the sound of her bare feet fade, and he buried his head in his hands, mentally kicking himself.

"Smooth, Allerdyce," came a new voice.

Pyro looked up to see a very pissed off looking Bobby standing with arms folded in the doorway. Immediately taking the offensive, Pyro let a smirk twist his features. "Nice, Bobby. Spying on people now? Your parents would _love_ that," he said darkly as he stood.

"Stay _away_ from her," Bobby said threateningly, ignoring the personal attack. He moved into the room, never taking his eyes off of Pyro.

"I'll do whatever the _hell_ I want, _Iceman_," Pyro said maliciously, moving forward to meet Bobby. The two boys were nearly shoulder-to-shoulder now, and Bobby gritted his teeth visibly.

"Not with her," Bobby said.

"Fuck off," Pyro spat, pushing past Bobby violently. It took all of Bobby's willpower not to let loose on John, but the teenager simply closed his eyes and counted to ten, promising himself that he would never let John hurt Kitty – ever.

---- x ----

Kitty was curled up on her bed, still trying to stop trembling.

No matter how much she reasoned with herself, she couldn't get _him_ out of her head. How could he affect her this way? When had it happened? She was tired of going in circles with him and with herself –there could never be anything between them. She convinced herself of it over and over again only to become vulnerable to him again and again.

Suddenly there was a soft knock at the door, and Kitty froze. She slowly got up and opened the door, afraid of what she would see.

It was _him_.

"I'm sorry, Kitty," he said in a whisper. Sorry for what, she wondered, but she realized he meant he was sorry for everything – even the connection between them.

She lowered her gaze and opened the door, then retreated further into her room. He shut the door, keeping his eyes on her. She couldn't look away, and it seemed that the sound of her breathing was the only sound on earth. The way he looked at her made her forget who she was – and she didn't want to remember. She caught her breath, and knew he could see it: She wanted him.

And then he was striding across the room with intention and she was throwing her arms around his neck and he had gathered her into his; his mouth was on hers, _in_ hers, and they breathed each other at last.

--- x ---

_Author's Note: Whew, I know I am kinda leaving you guys on a cliff here, but please do humor me. Also let me know what you thought of this chapter in comparison to the last ones. I've been sick and I can't think straight or write well when I'm sick! Also, check out "Can't Let It Go" by the Goo Goo Dolls – it's a very Kyro-esque song._


	8. Heat

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter VIII: Heat_

"No, no…" She heard herself say, and the world came back into focus. Kitty found herself staring into Pyro's dark eyes as he held her face in both of his hands. She was pushed up against the wall, his warm body was pressed to hers, and her arms had gone slack around his neck. He was still so close that she could feel his warm breath on her face. She didn't have to wonder what had just happened – her body was still buzzing from the way he had kissed her. She felt him trembling and hesitantly brought a hand to the side of his face.

A million thoughts raced through her mind, but one dominated.

"What are we doing?" She asked softly, searching his eyes for an answer.

John shook his head, never breaking the gaze between them. His thumb traced the outline of her ear. He was silent for a long moment, and Kitty swore he would be able to hear the loud beat of her heart.

"I will _never_ hurt you again," he said in a fierce whisper, and the intense expression on his face scared her.

A sudden fear sliced through Kitty – was this really happening? The Pyro she knew – or at least the Pyro she thought she knew – wasn't like this. The Pyro she knew wasn't caring or open, he didn't make her heart race, and he certainly didn't _kiss_ her like he had.

"This… this isn't the John Allerdyce I knew…" Kitty said hesitantly, stopping short and hoping he would destroy the doubt in her mind.

"You… Kitty, you are…" he faltered, and his gaze fell. He was struggling, and Kitty waited until he looked back at her. His face was different – afraid in a small way. "I'm not used to talking about how I… _feel_." He said the word 'feel' with a bite of distaste.

"It's okay," Kitty said softly, meaning every word and prepared to accept his silence. She just wanted to stay in the moment and keep him close. Her heart ached for him.

His eyes snapped back to hers and his voice was broken. "It's not okay anymore."

He sighed quietly and buried his head in the crook of her shoulder, enveloping her in his arms. She could feel his eyelashes against the curve of her neck. "It's like I've been blind until now," he said, the words hot against her skin. Kitty clung to him tightly, and she could feel his fingers digging into her back.

"I never thought in a million years that I… that we…" he paused, and Kitty felt him pull her closer.

"Something in me is changing." His voice grew softer, more afraid. "I can feel it."

Kitty pushed him away so that she could look into his eyes. To her surprise they held the shine of tears. She blinked and felt hot tears spill onto her unsuspecting cheeks.

"Stop it," he said, the shadow of a smile crossing his face. Exhaling softly he bent to kiss her again, tenderly and sensually this time. Kitty felt herself let out a soft sigh as his tongue swept lightly under hers and his fingertips traced a gentle pattern against her neck, the simple touch of his arm against hers creating a thousand crazy sensations.

She tried to pull him closer, but he suddenly drew back, extracting himself from the embrace completely.

"I'm not a good guy, Kitty," he said, looking awkward and alone as he stood arms length away.

Feeling newly cold and strangely abandoned, Kitty hugged herself, trying to control the tears that threatened to fall. "You're not a bad guy either."

His eyes flickered. "Yes I am. If you knew half the things that I've done – half the things I've _wanted_ to do –"

Kitty stepped forward, reaching out to him even as he stepped back, keeping the space between them continuous.

"It doesn't matter. Stay with me tonight…"

His jaw clenched, and he looked tempted, but he shook his head. "No. You would regret it later."

"No." She shook her head. "I don't want be alone."

Both his face and mind conflicted, he said nothing.

"_Please_," she heard herself whisper.

---- x ----

"What happened when you left the X-Men?"

The light was off now but he could see her outline traced by the moonlight slanting in through the window. She was curled up on her side and still enough to be asleep, but she was watching him. On his stomach with his arms folded under the pillow, John studied her delicately, still trying to believe what had happened had really happened.

"A lot," was his ambiguous reply. She gave him a look and her expression remained expectant. Despite the fear of really telling her or anyone the things that had happened within the Brotherhood, he almost felt like he could tell Kitty all of it. But John was careful.

"Magneto made me important."

Kitty's face seemed to fall slightly, and she held his eyes in a gaze that made him feel dizzy. "You've _always_ been important."

Most of him couldn't believe her, _refused_ to believe her. He had spent his entire life walking alone, and now, in just a few days, he had come to believe that she didn't want him to walk alone. He shook his head, and tore his gaze away from her eyes. "Why me?"

Her hand came to rest on his shoulder. The slight weight and warmth was soothing, and Pyro felt his physical self relax slightly.

Kitty was silent, and he could sense she didn't know how to answer him.

"In the morning, things won't be different, will they?" She asked softly, her gaze wavering.

"What do you mean?" He asked, shifting slightly.

She bit her lip and shrugged. "I just… I usually don't let boys sleep with me." Her face melted into horror and both of her hands clapped over her mouth. "I mean _next _to me!" She exclaimed. Pyro could practically feel the blush radiating off her skin.

John would have smiled, but instead he leaned slightly closer, and laid what he hoped was a reassuring hand on her forearm. There was so much he didn't know about Kitty, but he could never think of how to ask.

She was silent for a moment, and her face because serious and composed once more. "I barely know you, John."

Pyro felt a hesitant sense of dread fill him. If he let her know him, or if he let himself get close to her, both of them would be hurt in the end.

"That can change," he said quietly, ignoring the reality of the situation, only wanting to keep the moment as it was.

"I hope so," she said softly, and he felt a pang in his heart, knowing he would ultimately let her down. Somehow, he felt she could sense it too, but instead of saying anything else, she yawned delicately and sent him a shy smile.

"Goodnight, John."

He nodded. "Goodnight."

Her eyes drifted shut and he was filled with a sense of wonder. It all seemed like a dream… but there she was, close enough to touch, the warm skin of her arm under his hand. Pyro would have let himself be consumed by guilt for what he knew he would do in the morning, but he pushed his plans for the next day out of his mind. Just for one night, he would allow himself to be to peace and to toy with the idea of love.

That night, John Allerdyce slept better than he ever had.

--- x ---

_Author's Note: By far, this was the hardest chapter to write. So I hope everyone LOVED it, or else I'll be forced to jump off a cliff for disappointing my lovely readers! I just want to thank you all for the tremendous response to this story. I can't express myfangirlish happiness!_

_Before I go: I noticed an interesting thing on the official X-Men website: in the intro it shows various mutants and Kitty and Pyro are right after each other! Also, on the menu of mutants they are beside each other. Cool, huh? I just love Kyro! Squee!_


	9. Ashes, Ice, Metal

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter IX : Ashes, Ice, Metal_

The mornings had been quiet all summer long, but this quiet morning made Bobby nervous. It was roughly six in the morning and the teenager hadn't slept at all. He was too troubled over John's presence and the way he had seen Kitty look at his former best friend. Pyro's presence in the mansion was distracting and worrying. Bobby stood in front of Kitty's door in his t-shirt and gym shorts, debating whether it was too early to wake Kitty up. He wanted desperately to know what he had witnessed between Kitty and John wasn't – well, wasn't something big. He wanted a reason to think he had misinterpreted it, or maybe misheard something.

Just as he had decided it was in fact too early, Kitty's door creaked open. But it wasn't Kitty who emerged. Recovering from the shock of seeing Pyro come out of her room took only a second, and Bobby slammed a surprised John to the wall furiously. "What the_ hell_ were you doing in there?" He whispered angrily.

Recovering, John shoved right back, violently knocking Bobby back several feet. "None of your damn business!"

"I warned you to _stay away from her_," Bobby said threateningly, cutting the distance between them so that they were toe-to-toe. Just imagining John's intentions with Kitty made Bobby's blood boil.

Pyro gritted his teeth, obviously trying to keep calm. "She didn't _want _me to stay away, _Iceman_. She risked her ass to get me here in one piece."

Bobby shook his head bitterly, counting the reasons why it seemed strange Kitty would ever do that for Pyro. He let a smirk tug at his lips. "You don't like to stay in one place for long, huh Allerdyce?" Bobby asked coolly, seeing the nerve he struck as John's mouth twitched.

"Pretty damn antsy without your girlfriend around, aren't you?" John asked snidely, crossing his arms with measured speed. "Where the hell is she, anyway?"

A smile tainted with sarcasm and irony crossed Bobby's face. "She went to go visit her extended family. To make amends." He gave John a pointed look as he paused. "They were pretty freaked out about her powers… she hasn't seen them since she discovered her abilities."

John's face grew slightly less masked and he was silent for a moment. "Sometimes I get the feeling more of us should be making amends."

Bobby said nothing, and a silent understanding passed between the boys. John moved to leave, but Bobby caught him by the arm. Yanking his arm out of Bobby's grip, John threw his hands up and stayed in place.

"I don't think I should let you leave," Bobby said quietly.

"There's something I have to do," John said with a quiet purpose. His expression was troubled. "Just let me leave quietly and I won't bother you – or Kitty – ever again."

Bobby uneasily looked at John, trying to read him, wishing he knew what was going on between Kitty and John. "How do I know this isn't just another lie? I won't be responsible for something happening to this school or the people in it."

"You don't have to worry about that. I never _lied_ to you, Bobby. I just left... and I'm sorry." He let out a small, airy chuckle to cover what Bobby hoped was regret. John met Bobby's gaze solidly at last. "Maybe it was a dumb idea."

Bobby could sense John's earnestness, and he let out a soft breath as he stepped aside. Against his better judgment. "You have _ten minutes_ before I wake Storm up." He spoke very slowly. "_Ten minutes_."

Flashing his trademark grin that looked more jaded than Bobby remembered it being, Pyro turned and moved away, turning a few steps later hesitantly. "I owe you one."

Bobby shook his head mournfully, feeling the renewed pain of their broken friendship. "Why did you abandon us, man?"

John shrugged, and Bobby saw the same pain he felt on his friend's face. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Just before rounding the corner, John looked back at Bobby. "Kitty's not a kid anymore. None of us are." He paused, and for the first time, Bobby saw real, raw regret etched across Pyro's features. "Tell her I'm sorry."

---- x ----

Kitty wasn't sure why, but something felt off when she woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw the other half of her empty bed, and she knew. Some small part of her had known he would be gone in the morning, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. Her gaze lifted, and she saw Bobby standing beside her bed. Confused, she pulled the covers closer as she pushed herself up.

"He said to tell you he's sorry," Bobby said flatly.

The seven words Bobby had uttered held a world of meaning to Kitty, but instead of crying and giving up she felt a strength within her flaring up, and she simply stood up, looking around the room in a shrewd way. "When?"

"Just a few minutes ago," he answered quietly. She could sense that he wanted answers from her, but she wanted to give none.

Kitty strode resolutely over to her closet and yanked her uniform off its hanger. "I'm going after him."

Bobby felt his jaw drop. "You've got to be joking me! This is John we're talking about! Don't you _see_ all the things wrong with him?"

Kitty turned to face him, her calm expression tainted by the reality of his words. "Yes," she said quietly, and then her voice grew stronger. "But I also see what's right with him." She started to take her t-shirt off. "Don't look," she added as an afterthought.

Bobby looked down and away, holding a hand in front of his face, feeling disgusted with the entire situation. "Kitty, this is crazy – you don't even know where he went."

The noise of her wriggling into her uniform ceased. "Yes I do," she said softly, truthfully. She hesitated. "I can sense things about people I really care about."

Bobby heard her zipper being done up and he looked at her once more, incredulous and suddenly understanding the whole thing- but understanding it made him afraid for her and angry at her at the same time. "You _can't_ mean that you – "

Her face suddenly twisted angrily. "I'm tired of people trying to run my life, Bobby!"

"Pyro can't tell you how because he doesn't know the first thing about life or loyalty!" Bobby burst out, his voice raised several levels. He stared her down, feeling a horrible sense of separation between them. His voice grew low again. "Is that why you love him?"

Her expression flickered, her jaw clenched, and he knew he was right.

"I'm out of here," she said coldly, brushing past him and sprinting through the wall. Bobby swore softly and kicked himself mentally before racing after her.

---- x ----

The house was small, just as Magneto had said it would be. The address had been seared into Pyro's mind when he became Magneto's right-hand – but he had never thought the situation would arise when he would actually visit 185 Lingering Shade Drive.

He approached the faded white house cautiously and glanced back. Scott's motorcycle was still propped up on its kickstand, gleaming in the places where the sun hit it. The road and house were almost completely engulfed in shade, giving the place an ominous feel. Even in hiding, Erik Lehnsherr managed to keep his threatening presence intact.

Pyro made his way up the stairs and found the door unlocked. He let himself in, following the hallway into the living room. Like a dream, or maybe a nightmare, Magneto was there, as if waiting for him all this time. He looked old and worn, but the same knowing smile was on his face. The room was dark save for the light of a single candle and the light from the small window.

"Ah, my old friend," Magneto said, gesturing for Pyro to take the seat across from him. "Finally escaped from prison, did you?" His hands were together in a steeple shape, fingertips touching just so.

Sitting down uncertainly, Pyro looked at Magneto in a mixture of disbelief and doubt, trying to process the information he hoped he misheard. "You _knew_ I was in prison?"

"My dear boy, you do not give me enough credit!" Magneto chuckled offhandedly.

Unable to believe that the man he had given his life to would completely abandon him in that way brought a wave of anger crashing over Pyro. He didn't bother hiding it as his voice rose. "I thought you would break me out or_ at least_ contact me!"

Magneto looked down at Pyro as if he were a child misbehaving, slowly and evenly, a storm of warning behind his calm expression. He spoke in a calculating way, tapping his fingers together evenly. "And why would I do that? Without your abilities I had no use for you."

The sting of his words made Pyro look down, feeling ashamed of himself for being a regular human once more. "I thought…" he began, but could find no other words. What_ had_ he thought? He looked back at Magneto warily, suddenly feeling a vague sense of discomfort.

Magneto looked at him with mock expectancy. "You _thought_. Yes, yes… well, my boy, I too was given the _cure_." His face grew distant and angry, his voice low with unexplored fury. "I was just a helpless old man without my abilities."

A mere second passed before Pyro's eyes snapped to Magneto's. "_Was_?" He repeated, not even daring to hope as Magneto gave a mysterious little smile.

"Was," Magneto repeated, and fixed his gaze on the candle burning beside him. It was set in a metal candlestick, and Pyro suddenly felt an odd sense of déjà vu washing over him. Magneto raised his hand and with what looked like immense effort he levitated the metal, and Pyro watched in awe as it floated through the air, flame flickering tamely.

Filled with a desperate joy he could not begin to fathom, Pyro stretched out his hand hesitantly as the candle came towards him, holding his fingertips above the flame, breathless. The small flame licked his fingertips harmlessly, and Pyro felt himself draw the fire in as he had done before. It seemed harder than before, and instead of a fistful of flame, he was only able to manipulate the fire into a small flame flickered wildly in his palm.

He stared unbelievingly at the little flame, then looked at Magneto with a blank expression of surprise. Magneto took the candlestick in his hand, a significant smile on his face.

"The_ cure_ has weakened us – but the Brotherhood will rise again. You and I will know the feeling of importance once more." He rose and strode toward the window, hands folded behind his back.

Pyro looked at the flame that was slowly dying in his palm. In the back of his mind, Kitty's voice quietly spoke. _"You've **always** been important."_

---- x ----

_Author's Note: I hope everyone liked this chapter. Kudos to everyone who knew Pyro'd get his powers back! Just to let you know, I'm going out of town the 19th to the 23rd, so the next chapter will probably be arriving around the 25th. Until then, darlings!_


	10. The Silver Circle

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter X: The Silver Circle_

It had been awhile since John had felt doubt as strong as he felt it then.

For the longest time, John had replayed the scene in which Mystique was 'cured' over and over – remembering the way Magneto had scorned her and left her for dead. John had been shocked by it after Mystique's undying loyalty and faithfulness to the Brotherhood. He had struggled to put it out of his mind, but now, as he watched Magneto at the window, it was all he could think of again.

Knowing he was tempting fate, but needing to know the answer, John stood. Knowing he had his powers back, even if they were lessened, made him feel more daring. The room was so silent that every shift of weight caused a creak and John swore he could hear Magneto's breathing.

"Where is Mystique?" The question was simple enough, but it was a loaded question that Pyro could see affected Magneto immediately. The former head of the Brotherhood turned slowly, an unreadable look on his face. John got the feeling that Magneto hadn't wanted to hear the question – and it pleased him. He felt a smirk tug at his mouth and his chin raised rebelliously.

"She is not _here_, obviously," Magneto said quietly after a moment, his expression slightly dangerous. He studied Pyro a moment longer before his face melted into another strange smile. Another wave of déjà vu overcame John, but it wasn't a good sense at all – Magneto seemed different – colder, aloft.

"Those that are left of us are weak and perhaps unaware that the cure was temporary." He gave John a critical look and a small shake of the head. "You surprise me with your lack of aptitude, _John_. I thought you of all mutants would realize the cure was temporary." The corner of his mouth lifted into a pretentious smirk. "I suppose I overestimated you."

John felt his mouth twitch, but Magneto paid it little mind, simply continuing as if he were explaining a mathematical concept to a child for the first time. "I have heard of an antidote. This anecdote will shorten the effects of the cure, it will bring back strength we are trying so hard to gain back."

John stood there dumbly, not really hearing anything. Without the scores of people under his control, just the two of them – it felt stupid. Foolish and wasteful. The hype was gone, and John just felt weary and sick. He felt tiny touches of regret trying to break through the cage he had them in and he stared blankly at a spot to the vague left of Magneto as he continued to talk.

"It will be difficult to get, but we must strengthen ourselves to continue the fight."

Magneto paused, probably waiting for Pyro to eagerly volunteer to gather resources and men, but John was silent, merely lifting his eyes to Magneto's indifferently.

"Something has changed…" Magneto murmured, his eyes trying to analyze John's.

"And what the hell would that be?" John asked abruptly, crossing his arms and jutting his jaw forward as a symbol of his defiance.

Magneto moved forward, and he towered over John's smaller frame. He smiled quietly, pausing a few extra seconds to anger John. "You are asking too many questions," he said softly, a warning glint in his eyes.

John didn't back down, anger crawling through his veins and across his skin. He didn't like being told what to do. "I'll do whatever the hell I want, old man. I was never one to listen to authority, _remember_?"

Magneto's expression flickered into a stormy expression bordering on anger. "And you were another brainwashed pawn to Xavier before I gave you a chance to do great things."

John shook his head in disgust. "I'm just another pawn to _you_." He wondered why he had never seen it before.

Magneto's eyes suddenly registered knowing, and his quiet smile was back. "You _really_ think you can go back to them?" He smirked, clearly amused. "They will never look at you the same."

Knowing he was right but not wanting to believe it, John found himself in silence, angers and fears pressing themselves flat against the stone walled core of his emotions.

Magneto pressed his victim as he was weakened. "Stay here – rebuild the Brotherhood with me. You will gain back your worth at my side."

John drew back as if burned by the words. He shook his head, well beyond words. "Fuck this," he said hotly, turning to leave.

Magneto's voice stopped him. "They have tainted you – a pity."

John turned to deliver another crude remark, but before he could, Magneto suddenly looked toward the front door and held up a hand for silence. "Someone is here," he said softly.

John suddenly felt uneasy, and in the slightest fraction of a second, he knew why.

She burst through the wall a few feet from him, windblown and rosy-cheeked, her hair undone and wild.

Magneto only looked faintly surprised, and crossed his arms leisurely as Kitty looked at him in breathless fright.

"It's very rude to walk through walls, you know," he said in a tone that would have made anything sound wise.

Recovering from the shock of seeing her, John grabbed Kitty by the arm, putting himself between her and Magneto. "What are you _doing_ here?" He asked, filled with a disbelief that stunned him to near silence.

Her eyes fell from his, and he sensed a strong battle was fighting itself inside her head. "Why have you done this?" she asked softly, her eyes floating somewhere along his left shoulder.

"_Kitty_…" he said softly, unable to believe she had yet again come after him. Her eyes gradually lifted to his, and he saw her angers, fears, hurt, and heartbreak in them.

"Again John. You left _again_. You promised me…" her eyes shone with tears tainted by angry hurt. John didn't know what to say. He wanted to say he didn't deserve anything from her, he had thought leaving would be best, he had wanted to stay so much… the thoughts went on and on, crashing into each other and leaving his mouth empty, his mind full.

Magneto chuckled softly, and Pyro turned, temper flaring. He kept his hand on Kitty's shoulder, and he gripped it tightly, hoping she would realize he wasn't ready to let go.

Magneto's smile was a patronizing as he looked at Kitty and then John. "How tragic… the young lady is in love with a daydream."

John felt himself move closer to Kitty, as if to protect her from Magneto's verbal condescension. Kitty looked painfully uncomfortable, her tears silently sliding down her cheeks.

Magneto came closer still, and John felt his grip on Kitty's shoulder tighten. "Your abilities are quite remarkable, aren't they?" His eyes were fixed on Kitty, and John felt her shrink back. He knew she thought Magneto had lost his powers, but his presence was overpowering and frightening either way. Magneto's gaze shifted from pleasant to dangerous. "You are going to help me."

Kitty's eyebrows slammed together and her mouth set firm and John felt her body tense. "I would _never _help you."

Magneto raised his eyebrows as if surprised. "Oh, I think you will."

It happened in a fraction of a second: John saw Magneto's hand raise and he felt something small, cold, and hard slam against his neck and wrap around it, and suddenly he couldn't breathe and was thrown against the wall and then on the floor, suffocating.

"John!" Kitty shrieked, rushing to his side and clawing at his neck, forgetting her powers and abilities.

Magneto merely smiled calmly, his hand closing tighter and John went slack. "Will you do as I ask?" He asked placidly.

"Yes, yes! Stop it!" She cried without a second thought, and the pressure immediately loosened and went slack, and John fell into her arms coughing and gasping.

"Very good. This is much better than I had planned," Magneto said with at attitude of composed cheer as he strode forward and picked Kitty up, tearing her out of John's grasp.

"I can't have you touching him, my dear. You might take him through a wall or two with you." His jovial expression became fogged with caution, and his grip was frighteningly strong on Kitty's shoulder. "And if you try such a thing, I will kill him before you can even graze your fingertips against the air in front of him."

John deliriously felt the object at his neck and realized it was a necklace. Hadn't Kitty worn a silver necklace? Even as he fought to get his breath back, he realized he hadn't noticed things about Kitty that he should have. Hell, he hadn't realized a lot of things about himself or Magneto for that matter. Still trying to understand that Magneto had been seconds away from killing him, John just looked up at Kitty, realizing what a huge mistake he had made.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so stupid," he panted, getting to his hands and knees shakily. She just stared back at him, petrified and completely stunned, still in Magneto's grasp. She was afraid, and it made him afraid.

He saw the candle flickering somewhere off to the right, and he wished he had enough strength to manipulate the flame – but his head felt light, and the world slowly faded to black. The last thing he heard was Kitty's anguished scream.

---- x ----

_Author's Note: I'm back! Vacation was awesome but I missed writing this story so much that I nearly went insane. Hope everyone likes this chapter. Also, please check out this Kyro story I found. It's called "The Boy Who Destroyed The World" and it's EXCELLENT. Here's how you can find the story: go to livejournal . com and then search for the user "unique(underscore)banality" and the story is in the latest entries. Also, check my profile for a Pyro/Kitty oneshot titled "What It Is To Burn". Later darlings._


	11. Just Another Regret

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter XI : Just Another Regret_

He woke to a world of cold shining steel above him and below him, and for a moment Pyro forgot what had happened and felt panic at the unfamiliar place trickle through him. But then he remembered Magneto almost killing him and Kitty risking everything to come after him, and the panic subsided, and he propped himself up on his elbows to look around.

He realized they were in some sort of semi-truck that was traveling very quickly, and that he was lying on his back near the end of the truck bed. Then he saw her, in the far corner at the other end of the truck, knees drawn to her chin. She looked so tiny and far away that John thought maybe he was hallucinating.

She looked so miserable that he knew she wasn't an apparition, and he sat up slowly, trying to think of a way to explain himself, but all he ended up doing was saying something he regretted.

"You shouldn't have come after me."

As soon as the words hit the air, he knew he had said the wrong thing, and Kitty gave him a disgusted look. "No shit, John."

She looked away from him, and by the jut of her chin he could tell she wanted to cry. He felt sorry for her but also angry that she had followed him. She was the most thick-headed girl he had ever met. Maybe that's why he liked her so much. He gritted his teeth together as he acknowledged how much he had come to like her. Maybe… _no_. He would not allow himself silly ideas and fantasies. He blamed himself for making things more complicated when he had kissed her – and God, he wanted so badly to kiss her again. He hadn't been able to stop himself the first time, everything in him had broken down, lost in attraction to her, a need to be close to her. He shook his head slowly, trying to get a grip and forget it all. He was used to being above his emotions and thoughts.

"Let's get out of here," he said, seeing no reason to stick around inside a truck, especially when Kitty could walk through the walls. He got to his feet, but Kitty suddenly shrank back, terrified.

"No! Stop!" She cried, and the raw fear in her voice made Pyro freeze mid step. She silently motioned to the space behind here where the cab of the truck would be. Her voice was just a soft, fearful whisper when she spoke. "Magneto can sense our movements. He'll kill you if I get near to you."

John scoffed unbelievingly and took two steps forward, but was thrown back, the chain around his neck tightening to an uncomfortable degree, and in shock, John touched the chain, wheezing for air. The chain loosened after about two seconds, but was tight enough to look like a collar around a dog's neck.

Kitty had jumped to her feet, alarm written all over her delicate features. John just shook his head and sank down to a sitting position, sick with the entire situation and his naïve belief that things would be the same as they had been before. Magneto was more powerful than John would have liked, even in a weakened stage. He had never thought Magneto would have done anything like that to him – but now it seemed to make sense, and John accepted it for the time being. He was too swallowed in humiliation and defeat to be fully pissed yet.

"I'm okay," he said sullenly after Kitty remained standing, and Kitty let out a deep breath and hesitantly resumed her huddled position on the floor.

"This is yours, huh?" He asked after a second, pointing to the chain that had nearly killed him.

She nodded absently, and by the way in which she averted her gaze, John wondered who had given it to her – something about her demeanor seemed to be shielding some sort of secret. After a moment of silence punctuated by a bump or two in the road, John asked what he knew the answer to.

"Why don't you just leave? I'll be okay."

He was completely serious, and saw no reason for her to stay and risk her life for his – but he also knew, or hoped he knew, that she would never abandon him like that. For being a boy who had a reputation for deserting, what John was most afraid of was being deserted.

Kitty looked at him seriously. "I think we both know I could never abandon you." She hadn't meant for it, but the words caused a wave of guilt to make John look away in discomfort. He felt such frustration at her lack of understanding him that he brought his fist down on his knee and swore loudly before looking at her again.

"When I said I would never hurt you again, I damn well meant it, Kitty!" He was desperate to see an expression of understanding so that he wouldn't have to talk more, but Kitty looked puzzled and vaguely upset.

John looked away, and started talking to the wall beside him. It was hard. "Everyone I ever cared anything about has gotten hurt or has hurt me. I'm done with that." He swallowed the painful memories of his mother and father, of his friend girlfriend Anna, and looked at Kitty. Just the sight of her face made John lose his grip. He let out a deep breath, hoping she knew what he was saying was true. "In just a little while, everything you've done for me will be another regret."

She was silent and her face didn't change. She just looked at him, and he fought the urge to go over and shake her. "Don't you get it?" He asked, feeling his voice rise.

Kitty just continued to look at him, with that same vacant expression.

"I don't belong in the world you belong in," he said after a moment of silence, and hearing himself say the words made his heart desolate. He was trying to help her by leaving her, why couldn't she get that? Didn't she understand that it hurt him like hell too?

Kitty raised her eyebrows in sarcasm and huffed. "Oh, and you know _so_ _much _about me, don't you?"

He knew it was true. He barely knew her. He hadn't wanted to before, and he still didn't want to, really. It would hurt him in the end to be close to anyone – especially her. In all of his life, no one had opened up to him like she had. He thought of the things they had gone through together in the past few days. He so desperately and selfishly _wanted_ her completely – and he wanted her to keep caring for him like he knew she did. He reasoned with himself that he liked her too much to screw up her life; he knew what had to be done. He looked down and prepared to seal the coffin with nails. "I know that I don't belong in your life."

She was silent, then her cold words sliced the air. "Fuck you, John Allerdyce. I hate you."

John felt a sardonic smirk tug his lips. The words burned, but he felt that they had to in order for her to be safe from him. "See? You're already coming around."

She was silent for a moment, and he saw her eyes shimmering with tears. Dammit, she cried too much, and he wanted her to stop. He turned away, unable to watch.

"I don't get it. He tries to kill you and you're still going to run back to him after all this, aren't you?" She asked quietly, and John looked at her, a bitter smile on his face.

"Kitty, you've done so much. For me. I don't get _that_."

Discontent flowered on her face, and she gave a shrug meant to appear nonchalant. "Figures."

She looked away and would not look back at him. John felt heavy regret seeping through him. Why did his life have to exist without her in it? How exactly had he become the boy he was that day? He knew what he had done. He had killed, he had hurt, he hadn't cared about anything but impressing others and following orders.

He buried his head in his hands and vaguely wondered what the hell his life was for, anyway. He didn't see Kitty looking at him sadly, her eyes full of her irrational love for him and heartbroken pain.


	12. Gathering Storm

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter XII : Gathering Storm_

Silence was heavy, John realized as the quiet stretched out between himself and Kitty. It seemed that years and years of silence passed before the truck finally groaned to a stop. Even then Kitty wouldn't look at him, and John refused to let himself say anything to her at all. Even though John was a risk taker, he wouldn't take the risk of making things better or worse with Kitty.

After the engine died, a moment of hollow silence followed. John thought he felt a slight rumbling and vaguely wondered if there was an earthquake happening. He stood up as the back door screeched open, rolling up to reveal Magneto and…

"_Juggernaut_?" John asked, closing his mouth as soon as he realized his jaw had dropped.

"Who else?" Cain asked roguishly, his grin lopsided as he held his helmet under a strapping arm. He swept his free arm to the side. "This way please," he said jokingly, but recovered from the surprise, Pyro just shot him a glare, refusing to act like everything was how it used to be.

Before jumping the few feet to the ground, John paused to look back at Kitty. Her face was hidden behind the veil of her hair. He wished he had never gotten her involved in it all, but wishing had never done him good before.

Magneto watched John haughtily as he followed Juggernaut a bit further off, and John decided if he had the chance, he would kill Magneto. Slowly. Fuck what they had been through together – Magneto had betrayed him for a ridiculous reason, as far as John was concerned. He had basically been discarded yet again, and he was done with that.

They were in the middle of frigging _nowhere –_ all John could see were trees on either side of the gravel road they were on_ – _and John felt strong unease because of the remote location. He watched as Magneto helped an uncooperative Kitty out of the truck. She caught his gaze for a moment and John hoped she couldn't see that he was worried about her. It was just too much for him, this… this_ thing_ with her. He couldn't look into her crestfallen eyes.

As Magneto and Kitty went further off down the slight incline and into the trees, John looked sidelong at Juggernaut. The man was grinning slyly, like he knew something no one else did. "Things ain't always what they seem, Johnny boy. Things ain't always what they seem."

"Uh, right," John said, rolling his eyes as he turned, arms crossed, to the direction in which Kitty had gone. He wasn't sure whether to raise an eyebrow in amusement at Cain's statement or be worried. What did the Juggernaut mean?

---- x ----

It was hot outside and still in her X-Men suit, Kitty was feeling sick with heat. She followed Magneto at a slow trudge through the woods and down the incline, miserable. Magneto didn't seem to be affected by the sweltering noon sun – and this pissed her off even more than she was already.

Even though Kitty's heart still longed for John in his softest, most vulnerable form, her mind had convinced her he was beyond her reach – and it made her ill with anger. She knew she had to concentrate on the moment and task at hand – a slip in focus might get her hurt. But she felt she was close to the edge of some sort of breakdown; her senses were numbed and her mind was fuzzy. It was hard to just put one foot in front of the other.

They finally came to where the trees thinned out, and Kitty could see a low building made of some sort of dull metal. Obviously it was the place Kitty was going to go in to, for Magneto stopped and pointed to the far corner of the building. He looked at her closely, speaking carefully. "All you have to do is go through the North wall right there and enter the laboratory. Get as much of the antidote as you can."

His tone became overdramatically serious, even though his words were not. Kitty clenched her teeth at his patronizing tone. "And please, don't run away. John wouldn't like that much."

Horrible flashes of the scene in which John had nearly died by being choked by her own necklace flashed in front of Kitty's eyes; she swallowed back the frightened tears threatening to fall. She nodded noiselessly, any words too thick on her tongue to be said.

Kitty shut her eyes and breathed evenly, wishing she wasn't in the situation, trying to find the words to say. She sounded small and silly to herself when she spoke. "After I come back – what about John?"

He paused, and for a moment, Kitty thought perhaps he sensed the connection between herself and Pyro; when he spoke his voice was almost gentle. "My dear, surely you know by now he will not go back – " He paused again and then spoke with cold finality, all traces of gentle understanding gone as if they had never existed. "Especially not with you. He belongs here. It is his place in life."

Kitty didn't want to believe it. She wanted to throw up, lay down, and then die disgusted with the world and herself.

"Don't take too long, my dear," Magneto said, nudging her verbally to get going. Kitty finally looked at him, hoping he could see how much she absolutely hated him. She hated him for taking John away; she hated him for_ everything_.

"I'll be out before you can say 'fuck this,'" she said sourly, and promptly sank into the ground, headed toward the North wall.

Magneto watched her go in slight displeasure. This one would be a problem to him.

---- x ----

Magneto re-emerged alone from the vast expanse of trees and John immediately stopped leaning against the side of the truck.

"Where's the hell is she?" He asked loud enough to make Cain frown.

Magneto seemed displeased with John's question and waited until he was a few feet away to look at John deliberately. "The girl can find her way back."

"This is bullshit, making some girl do your dirty work for you!" Pyro said angrily, then motioned to the chain around his neck in a frenzied way. "And what the hell were you trying to pull with this?"

Magneto crossed his arms and Juggernaut stood beside him, and John felt another wave of unease wash over him. "You never questioned my methods before – we do what must be done for the cause." Magneto spoke with a quiet impatience masked in deliberate persuasion.

John could feel himself getting angrier by the moment, and seeing Juggernaut and Magneto staring down at him objectively only made it worse.

"You must understand that this –" Magneto motioned toward the thin silver chain around John's neck, "is for the greater good."

"Bull_shit_," John snarled, knowing well and good that Magneto was using him. Magneto's eyes flashed deadly warning, and John was acutely aware of how powerful the two men in front of him were and how incapable he was against them.

"She doesn't care about you as much as you think, my boy," Magneto said softly, waiting for John's reaction, which was incensed, bitter silence.

"Did you ever really believe she wanted to help you?"

The words were like a thousand little knives coming together to tear a gash in the skin of his emotion, and John felt himself shaking his head in denial. She did want to help him, he believed it, he wanted to so badly.

"Stop lying to me," he said in a shaking voice, taking a step backwards to press his back against the side of the truck as Magneto stepped closer.

"I don't need to lie, you know it's true," Magneto replied silkily. Juggernaut looked at Magneto sidelong, and lifted a lit cigarette to his mouth to take a drag. The world seemed to freeze as Pyro saw what both he and Magneto had failed to see, and his senses centered in on the small fire within the shaft of the cigarette. He didn't even stop to wonder when Juggernaut had picked up the habit of smoking, he just drew in the warm, familiar feeling, feeling power now instead of helplessness.

"I warned you," Pyro said darkly, and suddenly, his entire body was engulfed in flame, every inch of him was ablaze, and chain on his neck melted away. Magneto stumbled back, not only shocked but nearly blown over by the wave of intense heat.

The raw power of the heat was like nothing he had felt before, and it gave him a strong sense of invincibility. Pyro advanced, bent on killing, high on sensation – but then he stopped.

_No_. He was surprised with the finality that his insides had said it with._ No_. _You are done killing_.

The flames died as his sense of awe grew. He looked at his arm in wonder – his clothes were still on him, unburned. He had never been able to control his flames like that before. Feeling a burst of superiority, he looked down hatefully on Magneto, who had passed out. A few of his hairs were burnt at the ends, and John smiled slightly, pleased. The feeling of power faded quickly as a strange fatigued feeling came over John, and he stumbled slightly. His head felt oddly thick and he felt like he had forgotten something.

He then remembered Juggernaut and whirled clumsily to see the man smiling slyly. "W-what are you…" he began, confused and ready to run if need be. He was cut off, dumbfounded, as the Juggernaut's skin suddenly peeled back to reveal blue scales and a small, feminine frame.

For the second time that day, John felt his jaw drop. "_Mystique_?"

Her eyes flashed yellow as the last of Juggernaut melted away, and there was no mistaking the woman standing in front of him. "Who else?" She asked softly, tossing the cigarette to the side with a smile.

John leaned an arm against the side of the truck. His muscles throbbed as if he'd ran a marathon. He looked at Mystique with a newfound fear – he knew she wanted revenge on Magneto – was she bent on revenge for him, too?

"Thanks for helping me get the antidote, John," she said sweetly, looking from Magneto to him, obviously pleased as she approached him.

Dimly wondering why Mystique would want the antidote, John slumped against the side of the truck now. Baffled and feeling half-drunk, John hazily glanced up and down the line of trees, just wanting to see Kitty all right and unharmed.

Mystique firmly grabbed his arm and half dragged him onto the grass where he collapsed, drained of everything he had in him.

"What's happening to me?" He asked thickly to no one in particular. He couldn't even move a finger, and he began to panic, and the edges of the world began to turn black. The possibility of death crossed his mind and John wished he could fight it, if only to just tell Kitty how wrong he had been about everything.

Just as his eyes began to droop closed, his world was thrown back into brightness with a single sound. "_John_!"

Her voice was sweetest sound he had ever heard in his life.

---- x ----

_Author's Note: This chapter was **so** hard to write. I hope everyone likes it. The next chapter will have a nice amount of romance, so stay tuned my wonderful readers!_


	13. Tangled

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter XIII: Tangled_

Just seconds before breaking through the tree line she had been angry, hurt, and ready to cry. She had felt used, tricked, and confused as hell – but then she had dropped the case of the antidote she had been carrying, and the world had skipped a beat. She had barely noticed anything but him laying in strange sprawl on patchy grass. She was dimly aware of Magneto's unconscious form and Mystique's unexpected presence, but neither of those things could stop her from rushing to John, ignoring the rest of the world and shouting his name half out of panic, half out of relief that he was still there.

He looked awful and sick, and as soon as she was by his side she knew something was terribly wrong. She cradled his upper body in her arms, frantically whispering words she couldn't even understand as she gently rocked him, feeling the fear buzzing in her ears.

His eyes were glassy and strange, focusing on the space beside her, and his forehead felt unnaturally cold when it touched her cheek. Kitty felt herself break, finally crying like she had needed to all day. The hurt and anger was completely gone, replaced with the strongest feeling of caring that she had ever felt. As she clung to his limp body, she prayed for the first time in her life.

Torrents of tears streamed down her young cheeks and Kitty's entire being was wracked with full-body sobs. "Don't die, please don't die," she pleaded shakily, filled with a full-fledged fear that John was fading into a place where he wouldn't come back from.

And then, just as she felt hopelessness overtaking her, she felt his hands dig into the back of her suit, weakly at first, then with a strength that hurt. She drew back and blinked the tears out of her eyes, hoping to see John glaring at her, smirking at her, giving her one of his disgusted and confused looks – he was looking at her dazedly, but his hands were still gripping her tightly. He was breathing noisily now, as if he were fighting. "Not yet," he said weakly. "I'm not leaving yet."

The sound of the truck starting startled Kitty, and she looked up, remembering that two dangerous mutants were nearby and she was in a bad position for defense. She looked numbly in the direction of where she had dropped the antidote – it was gone. Magneto still laid in the same place as before, but Mystique was gone – obviously in the truck that was now driving off, leaving them in the middle of nowhere.

Kitty felt one of John's hands slip down to grasp her forearm weakly, and she felt a new determination overcome her senses. She needed to get them away from Magneto, and quickly.

"Come on," she said, half to herself, and struggled to her feet, still overcome by the summer heat. She hooked her arms under John's from behind, and with all of her strength, she began dragging him away. He was heavy and even though he tried to stand several times, his strength was obviously spent, and he uselessly let her drag him.

Her strength began to dwindle even before Magneto's body was out of sight, but Kitty steeled herself, hoped he would stay unconscious, and continued her labored effort. She dragged John until there were spots in front of her eyes and her muscles burned so fiercely that they might have been on fire.

She finally collapsed, panting and dizzy, sitting awkwardly like a rag doll and supporting herself weakly on her arms. John crawled closer, laying his head beside her leg silently. "I-I can't go any – further," she wheezed, and his voice crackled when he spoke.

"It's okay."

Kitty shut her eyes and fell back into the grass, vaguely aware of the warm pressure of John's body against her leg. Her breathing slowly became normal again, and she could hear his was regular too. She was vaguely worried about Magneto – she didn't think they had gotten far – but laying there listening to them breathe in harmony almost made her forget everything.

"Kitty," he said softly, and she felt his hand over hers where it rested on her stomach. "I'm glad you're with me."

They were words anyone could have said, but hearing them from him was different. Kitty grasped his hand tightly, and didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure if it was happening – she felt delirious and intoxicated.

John crawled closer, so that their heads were parallel, and nestled close to her. It felt natural to pull him close and accept his embrace, to breathe the air he was finished with. Kitty wanted to forever exist in the world of her closed eyes and his warm presence, his soft voice.

"I shouldn't have left," he said quietly, and she sensed real regret in his voice.

"I lied when I said I hated you," Kitty replied, wishing she could keep her eyes closed forever and just listen to his voice.

He was silent for a moment. "I know."

She opened her eyes and was gazing into his. His face was astonishingly close, and it would have been the easiest thing in the world to kiss him. But instead, Kitty ran a soothing, worried hand over his arm, trying to dismiss fantasies. "What did they do to you?"

He hesitated uncertainly. "Nothing. _I_ did something… and now I feel… weird."

She could have laughed at his lack of eloquence if she didn't feel so drained. She just smiled and shyly dropped her gaze, muting the part of her that was raising an eyebrow at the proximity between them. Logic seemed to be something that was lost to her lately.

She felt his arms encircling her and for a moment, she let herself wonder what it would be like to always be with him, to always come back to his slow smile and hesitantly tender embrace. She sighed softly. Of all the things in the world to need, why John Allerdyce?

For the moment, she willed herself to just breathe, to forget about the past and the future – to just appreciate the moment.

"What are we supposed to do now?" He asked after a moment, and Kitty hesitated. He could have been asking what they were supposed to do now that they were alone in the middle of the wilderness, but he could also have been asking about, well, _them_.

Kitty drew back enough to see his face. He looked better, his eyes were alert and focused and had a certain strength in them. She still wondered what had happened to make him so sick, but he seemed to be recovering quickly and she could do nothing but be glad and exhausted.

"Why would you leave me like you did this morning, John?" Kitty asked quietly, trying to tell him with unspoken words that she wanted him to _stay_, dammit.

His gaze flickered. He didn't have to say much, because she knew that the next two words he said were hard to say. "I'm scared."

Kitty buried her head somewhere between the point where his shoulder and neck met and held tight, hoping he could feel what she felt.

_I love you._

She wanted to say it so badly that she bit her lip to keep from saying it. Those three words would destroy the connection between them – she knew it. John was afraid of being too close to someone. If he knew how close Kitty wanted him to be…

She let the thought die and drew back. John was looking at her in that offhandedly intense way he had of looking at her sometimes. "You're crazy," he said fondly, and she had to smile in agreement. She knew it full and well – after the past few days together she had questioned her sanity a million times.

He angled his face against hers and kissed her tentatively, his lips every bit as warm and soft as she remembered them being. Before when he had kissed her, he had wanted her fully. Now his kiss was questioning, curious, cautious. Kitty drew him closer, kissing him lazily, sleepily, wondering if it were all in her head.

He broke the kiss gently, wordlessly, and gave her a rare, soft smile that was born in his eyes. Kitty couldn't tear herself away from the man she had come to know who had been a boy she nearly hated.

Not much later, Storm found them tangled together in that simple embrace.

---- x ----

_Author's Note: So I wrote the chapter then somehow my USB drive decided to delete the file. Sorry this took so long - blame it on USB drives! If you are a livejournal enthusiast, please check out the community "kittyandpyro" for fanfiction, links, fanart, and more :) Kyro is catching on and I LOVE IT._


	14. Water Glasses and Lighters

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter XIV: Water Glasses and Lighters_

While it wasn't exactly what Storm had expected to see after emerging from the X-Jet, it didn't exactly shellshock her. After all, she of all people knew how fast the weather could change – figuratively and literally. Nonetheless, seeing Kitty Pryde and John Allerdyce together as they were had startled her, but not to the point of being dumbfounded. She had halted mid-stride as she realized what they were doing: Holding each other caringly, the tips of their noses just touching. After hesitating, she had cleared her throat and the two had simply opened their eyes and looked at her, startled but obviously exhausted to the point of not being able to care.

Now, as she silently piloted the X-Jet back, she couldn't stop glancing back at the two teenagers. Something had clearly happened to John – he was immensely weakened. He now laid on the pop-out cot, and Kitty was beside him. Their hands were clasped, and her head was on his chest – they were sound asleep. It was a strange sight that Ororo never thought she would see, and she had her worries about it – but the scene before her was oddly touching, and she found herself softening toward John just by seeing the way his arm had gone around Kitty when she laid her head against him.

Storm knew the time for answers would come, but since being woken by Bobby and following Kitty's and John's trails, she had experienced an overwhelming need for answers and an overwhelming lack thereof. She had a strong suspicion that the house where she had found Scott's old motorcycle was Magneto's – the entire place seemed to be imbued with Erik's signature cold presence. Impatient for answers and hoping John hadn't done anything rash, Storm lowered the jet. Her instincts told her John was bad news… but they also danced around the possibility that he had changed – but if so, why would he lead Kitty to Magneto?

As she made the descent into the hangar, she sighed. She knew Bobby would want answers. And she had none to give.

---- x ----

It was early evening when Kitty woke up, back in her bed in her dorm room – alone. Her muscles ached even before she sat up, but she didn't let that stop her from sitting up. She examined herself. She was in a pair of her pajamas, and her skin felt tight as though she'd been in a hot shower. Kitty stood, grimacing slightly as her tired muscles protested. How long had she been asleep?

She halfheartedly picked up the glass of water on the table beside her bed and looked at it somberly. Life had gotten so complicated in the past few days. Standing, she sighed and wondered if John was all right. She paused at the wall she intended to phrase through. She wanted to see him more than anything. As she wandered down the hall, she could hear voices coming from downstairs. They sounded familiar, and she curiously followed them. She paused at the top of the staircase before descending.

"… were so worried about that girl."

"I can understand completely, Mrs. Pryde," Storm's voice said, and Kitty felt her jaw drop as she halted in the middle of the staircase.

Her parents? She stared unbelievingly at their familiar backs. How on earth had they managed to get there in several hours? And how did they know where to find her?

"Kitty!" Storm said, and her parents turned. Kitty could do nothing but look guilty as her parents looked at her with wide eyes. Her mother's face was tight with fury and displeasure, but her father looked relieved and concerned.

There was an awful silence. Finally, Kitty's mother spoke. "Katherine Pryde, how _dare_ you do something like this to us?"

Kitty felt hollow and tired, and didn't feel like explaining. "I don't know." It was a lame excuse, but Kitty honestly didn't know why she had done the things she had. She knew she didn't regret doing them, though. She turned her gaze to Storm and her thoughts to John. "Is John okay?"

"John is _fine_, _better_ than fine," Storm said, the reassuring wave of calm in her voice made Kitty breathe a little easier.

Kitty's mother looked from Storm to Kitty in incredulity as if she couldn't believe they were talking about anything but how bad a child Kitty was. She frowned and pursed her lips, pointing at the spot beside her. "Come down here _right now_."

"Theresa…" Kitty's father began, but a sharp look and word from Theresa cut him short.

"David."

Kitty uncomfortably avoided looking at Storm, mortified by her domineering mother and passive father. Storm gave a sad, understanding smile.

Theresa sighed, her expression softening a bit as Kitty reluctantly approached the bottom of the stairs. "Listen, honey. I think you should know this if you don't already."

She looked from Kitty to her father. Nothing could have prepared Kitty for the impact of the next thing she would say. "Your father and I are getting a divorce."

In all her years, Kitty had never felt so shocked or sick or beyond words. For a moment she couldn't even speak. "What?" She whispered, hoping she had misheard.

Her dad gave her a feeble smile that tried to be comforting. "Sweetie… I'm sorry."

Kitty looked at her parents in disbelief. She knew they had problems and were unhappy, but this? She always believed things would get better. Kitty looked at Storm despairingly, and the teacher had a heartbroken expression on her face. Kitty's heart seemed to hurt where it beat in her chest, and her stomach made her sick.

Her mother cleared her throat and sniffed, crossing her arms and huffing slightly. "You need to pack whatever things you brought and get ready. We have a flight home in an hour."

Kitty shook her head, feeling the familiar sting of tears in her already tired eyes. "No." She looked down at the glass of water in her hand. It was awkward and heavy and felt like it was slowly killing her.

"What?" Her mother's voice was dangerous and prohibited rebellion.

"I said _NO_!" Kitty screamed, throwing the glass she had been holding to the floor where it broke into a million angry pieces. Storm jumped and Kitty's parents both looked at her with surprise.

"Young lady, I have had enough of this!" Her mother shouted angrily after recovering from the alarm of the movement and noise. She took two steps forward, her heels crunching in the glass. She tried to grab Kitty's wrist, but her fingers went right through the skin.

Kitty backed up a few steps and regarded her mother with pure hatred. "I _never_ want to see you again."

And then she turned and ran.

---- x ----

He had seen and heard it all from the top of the staircase where Kitty had stood moments before. He watched as Storm tried to reason with the upset parents. He watched as they adjourned to a smaller room. He watched as Bobby lingered outside of the closed door as the adults talked. John fingered the small, plastic lighter he had found in the kitchen. Now he could watch no more and he knew he had to go after her.

Bobby's eyes glittered darkly as he caught sight of John descending the stairs, and he quickly moved to block the bottom of the staircase, holding up a warning hand as he did. "Listen. You don't know anything about her."

John sighed and crossed his arms, ready for another one of Bobby's bullshit lectures. The Iceman was really starting to annoy him – especially because he saw right through John when it came to Kitty.

Bobby's voice lowered and his expression was melodramatically earnest. "Do you care that her favorite candy is Sour Straws? Did you know she's got the IQ of a genius? She loves dancing and old movies and she can't sing at all." His face twisted into a sickened expression, as if he were looking at a piece of filth. "You're too busy being self-absorbed to ever be what she needs!"

John took another step down the stairs and his voice lowered to a harsh whisper, ignoring the pretend care Bobby had for Kitty. John didn't play the bullshit game, and it was time to cut to the damn chase. "I've seen the fucking way you look at her when you think she's not looking. _Asshole_!" He was so angry he could have killed Bobby, but instead he drew back a bit, pausing for a beat.

"It doesn't fucking matter that I don't know which damn ice cream flavor she likes over the other or if I know how many times she went to see the frigging Star Wars movie in theatres." He pushed past Bobby roughly, turning to face him only partially. "There's more to her than facts and statistics."

It was true, and Bobby knew it. Kitty was a soul, not a housing for likes and dislikes – and while John did yearn, in the deepest part of him, to know stupid things like if she liked vanilla or chocolate better, the tears he had seen her cry, the words he had heard her say – they were the things that mattered.

Bobby was grudgingly silent, unwillingly astounded by the meaning behind John's words. John took the opportunity to give Bobby one last piece of his mind and a small, triumphant smile. "Kitty doesn't _need_ you, Iceman."

There would always be that tension and anger between them, and Bobby's words echoed in John's head as he strode away.

"She sure as hell doesn't need _you_."

Bobby didn't have to say it – John knew it was true but wished it weren't. He knew he could never be good enough for Kitty Pryde.

---- x ----

_Author's Note: This story is getting near the end, now. I have another Kyro story I'm going to be writing after this one – not a sequel and not in any way related, but I know you will all love it. Keep reviewing!_


	15. Between Us

**The Difference Between**

_Chapter XV : Between Us_

During the semester, she had walked the grounds at night to clear her head or stargaze. Kitty's favorite spot had always been under the overgrown weeping willow. Hidden behind and under the branches she had always felt secluded and at peace. But now she was curled up against the tree and sobbing, feeling utterly wretched and abandoned under a night sky that felt suffocating instead of freeing.

_What did I do to deserve this?_ Kitty didn't understand anything that had happened to her that summer. Nothing she had done had been consistent with who she was – her decisions had gotten her a wanted poster, a destroyed car that wasn't hers, angry parents, and an upset Bobby. Then, just as she began to love and trust John, he had betrayed her and broken his promise to stay. To top it all off, the divorce. _What did I do to deserve this?_ She wondered again, wiping a cheek with her palm and hating herself for breaking down that way.

The sound of the willow's branches rustling startled Kitty, and she wiped her palm on her pajama bottoms, ashamed to be seen crying.

"Hey."

She timidly looked up into the familiar face of John, and he gave her a small, sad smile as he sat beside her, pulling her into an unexpected, warm embrace. Kitty's arms automatically went around him, embracing him tightly as she cried softly. It was insane, considering John himself had abandoned her earlier that day, but she needed comfort, and she wanted it from him.

"My parents…" she whispered, trying to find the words to explain how her world was crumbling.

"I know," he said, his tone touched with understanding. She felt his hand again her back, holding her steady even as she offhandedly wondered when he had become this way. "I saw."

She drew back, her fingers still gripping his shirt mournfully. She wasn't sure why, but his behavior scared her - searching his eyes for an answer, she felt herself once again lost in his eyes and touch, and it terrified her.

"It'll be okay," he said kindly, and Kitty drew back as if stung by the words, hugging her arms to herself and regarding him with a shaking head and frightened eyes.

"Right, John. Everything has fallen apart. People have died, gotten hurt! The world is going to shit and I'm going with it." She paused, calming herself down, her eyes searching the space in front of her. "I want to trust you so bad… but I can't."

Pyro would have not understood – but John did, and he ran a hand through his hair out of frustration with himself and the situation. He really couldn't blame her for being afraid of him in the sense that he would turn and leave her at any given minute. He really couldn't blame her for doing the exact same thing he always did – back away when open arms were there. He could only blame his stupid, stupid self. He stood and slammed an open palm against the tree. "Fuck! All I can do is make mistakes!"

Kitty looked at him wide-eyed from her sitting position. In a million years, he never thought the sight of a small girl with teary eyes in pink Hello Kitty pajamas would affect him so much. He sank back down dejectedly, his turn to be too ashamed to meet her gaze. "God…" he said, burying his head in his hands. "My biggest mistake is this. Hurting you." He looked at her morosely, chancing everything for a look into her eyes.

"John, I know people make mistakes," she said softly, slowly, her gaze as hesitant as his. "I don't want to make another and be angry at you."

She gave him a small smile and his mouth automatically mirrored the smile. She shifted, slowly, leaning against him once more, settling back into the place where she felt the safest. Their collective tension slowly ebbed off, and John's arms encircled her once more. God, if everything could always be this way.

It was several moments before she spoke again – several soft, hazy moments when the world felt all right and problems seemed to float by unnoticed and unimportant.

"Listen… I need to know. Do I… is this… I mean…" she halted and sighed, a soft sound tinged with self-frustration.

"Just say it," John said after she fell silent.

Kitty drew back to look him in the eye seriously. He could still see the flicker of fear in her eyes, and it made him slightly nervous. She bit her lip hesitantly. "What do I mean to you?"

He didn't have to think about it very long because he already had. She had been the core his thoughts revolved around ever since the moment their fingertips had touched through the glass separating them in that prison. He didn't have to think about it because he knew what she meant to him. As crazy as it was, as hard as it was to admit it to himself, he didn't want it any other way. He shrugged, letting a self-conscious smile slip as the answer left his lips. "Everything."

She was taken aback by his answer and it was written all over her face – for a split second, John was frightened and wondered if he had been wrong to tell her that. Panicking, he said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Do you like vanilla or chocolate better?" It was a simple enough question, but it was so off-topic at the time that Kitty's face became even more taken aback. She blinked a couple of times before a slightly amused expression appeared on her face. "Huh?"

"It's just… a dumb question." John managed, feeling his ears burn uncomfortably. He tried to think of a way to explain why he had asked her that. "I guess there aren't many things that I know about you."

She looked at him carefully, and he got the feeling she understood perfectly, and the unfamiliar feeling of embarrassment faded as she spoke. "Yeah. And there are a lot of things that I don't know about you."

The curiosity in her voice made him look at her more closely. "You want know about me?" It was a stupid desire, but he wanted her to want to know him.

She gave him one of her hesitant smiles. "More than you'd believe." Something changed in her face, and he could almost see her mind switching tracks, and she gave a weary, upset sigh. "My parents getting divorced is like… unreal."

"My parents probably divorced awhile ago," John said bitterly. He hated thinking about his parents because he missed them and detested them so much at the same time. "My mom… I found out that she's living in Virginia."

"We should go see her." John looked at her quizzically, but she was serious. "What else do I have to do with the rest of my summer? Let's just steal a car and go." She giggled slightly in her reference to her past experience with stealing cars, but grew somber once more. "I really can't be with my parents right now."

He placed his hand over hers. He completely understood, but he didn't know what his place in her life was. "I don't know if I belong here."

He expected her to go ape-shit on him and try to convince him why he did need to stay and why he did belong, but she just shrugged. "Me either."

"Let's just run away," she said, half like she was talking to herself. John then realized how similar he and Kitty were – and how she could run away from her problems just as easily as he had – but it would be a mistake, and he didn't want her to regret things like he had.

"No. You need to stand up to your problems." He gave her a little smile, a playful punch to the arm. "I'll be right beside you while you do."

She looked at him with a shy smile on her face. The way she looked at him was beautifully unnerving. "Vanilla."

It was John's turn to be confused. "Huh?"

She laughed softly, a sound he could get very used to. "I like vanilla better than chocolate, but I like chocolate a lot, too." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Actually, I'm not sure if I _do_ like vanilla better than chocolate… I guess it depends on…" she trailed off, shaking her head in self-amusement.

John brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, a very amused smile on his face. "Looks like I have a lot to learn."

She looked at him intently, and suddenly, her hands were holding his face and she was pulling him to her and kissing him crazily, in a way that John could never imagine Kitty kissing anyone. Even as he kissed her back urgently, trying to pull her as close as possible, he wondered where she had learned to kiss like _that_. She finally pulled back, leaving them both breathless and slightly dizzy.

And then she changed his life.

"I love you."

John literally felt his heart skip a beat, and he shook his head, suddenly feeling sick and weak. "You… you shouldn't."

Her hands still held his face, her eyes held his gaze. Her voice was soft. "Why not?"

Bobby's voice echoed through his head, a constant reminder of how unfit John was for Kitty.

_She sure as hell doesn't need **you**._

John looked at Kitty earnestly, and it was hard. "I'm not good enough."

She sighed, somewhat exasperated. "It's not about being perfect, John. You're real. There's just something _here_ between us." She still held his face, but now her thumbs gently traced a circle against his cheeks. He felt drunk on her presence, and he was hanging on every word that she said. "Can't you feel it?" She asked, and he resisted the urge to kiss that little mouth again. "The difference between us gets smaller everyday."

He stared at her long and hard. Kitty. She was just… beyond words. And she did mean everything to him. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but he loved her, and he was okay with the fact. He knew it would be hard to admit it to her, hell, it was hard admitting it to himself – but there was a beautiful, amazing girl in his arms who wanted them to have a chance.

He felt himself smile, and that smile had the shadow of his trademark smirk. He reached up and poked her nose playfully with the tip of his finger. "You're crazy."

Kitty's hands slid from his face to around his neck, her arms resting on his shoulders. She grinned. "Mostly."

John pulled her close, closing his eyes against her shirt and sinking into the feeling of her arms. "People won't understand this."

He heard her give a huff before she answered, her breath tickling his neck. "They don't have to."

John pulled back, trying to get up enough courage to tell her what she deserved to know. She looked at him curiously; she could tell he was struggling to say something.

"I do, you know. I… I do." It wasn't the most traditional declaration of love, but Kitty understood, and she smiled that little half-smile at him. "Yes."

God. Who ever thought he'd ever be this crazy about Kitty Pryde?

She tilted her head thoughtfully, a nervous little smile on her face. "You know, we're both still wanted."

John slid a hand up to rest at the side of her face, a playful smirk on his face. "Yeah, we are. Do you like having a hardened criminal as a boyfriend?"

Kitty pulled an over-dramatically thoughtful face that made John laugh – it was a deep, rich laugh, and she knew she was going to work on making him laugh more often.

She answered his question honestly, even as she grinned like a schoolgirl. "As long as he's you."

He smiled up at her, and somehow, in that moment, she knew it was all going to turn out all right.

---- x ----

_Some stories don't have a definite ending, and this is one of them. _

_Kitty and John's wanted status slowly faded away into a bad memory, but Kitty was always a little jumpy around authorities after that. Kitty and John visited his mother that summer after a lot of uncertainty and hesitance on John's part – it was awkward at first, but mother and son finally made peace and came to terms with each other. John's father had disappeared several years before, abandoning his wife much like he had abandoned John. _

_Mystique used the cure antidote to form her own sect of the Brotherhood. Needless to say, Magneto was not pleased. This new Brotherhood created some trouble for the X-Men as well as Magneto, but in the end it didn't seem to matter about the shape of the world: Kitty and John were happy together. It shocked some, surprised others, drew smiles from others. Some said it was doomed to fail, others just rolled their eyes. But in the long run, the two made it work. _

_A woman can never change a man, but Kitty didn't have to. Some people have to become bad before they can be good, and John Allerdyce was one of those people. The difference between Kitty and John became nothing, and like it had been planned from the beginning of time, the relationship just happened and played out. Of course, nothing is without its problems. The two disappeared some time after John was infected with the Legacy virus. Some say they are dead. Others just smile. They know that the two mutants are together, wherever they are… and that is enough._

_**The End**_

**__**

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you darling readers for staying along for the ride! Please leave a review to let me know how much you loved and or hated the story, LOL :D also, I hope this didn't turn out too fluffy…? Keep an eye out for my next Kyro fic!_


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